• Patients waiting up to three years for heart care
• Worst November on record at A&E
• More than 800,000 still stuck on an NHS waiting list
• Greene responds to Constance breaking ministerial code

Patients waiting up to three years for heart care

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has raised concerns over long waits for cardiology services as he revealed new data showing patients waiting more than three years for care.

A freedom of information request submitted by Scottish Liberal Democrats shows:

• At least one patient in NHS Lothian has waited more than three years for a cardiology outpatient appointment.

• 611 patients are currently waiting for a cardiology outpatient appointment who have been waiting more than 52 weeks

• At least 18 patients have been waiting more than 104 weeks (2 years).

• NHS Fife recorded that the longest waiting time in the last 12 months for a patient to be seen by cardiology services recorded was 130 weeks, while NHS Ayrshire & Arran and NHS Lanarkshire both recorded patients who had to wait over 100 weeks.

• The current longest waiting time (i.e. the patient who has currently been waiting the longest and has not yet been seen) was 113 weeks in NHS Fife, followed by 110 weeks in NHS Grampian.

Commenting on the figures, Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

With the equivalent of one in six Scots now on a waiting list, long waits for specialist care are becoming terrifyingly normalised.

Scottish Liberal Democrats believe Scotland deserves better than this. At the forthcoming election we will put delivering first-rate health care at the top of the agenda – so you can see your specialist, GP or mental health professional when you need them.

On top of the stress of knowing you are not getting treated, long waits for care affect people’s lives in other ways too. We’ve had constituents reporting wanting to take a well-earned holiday but they can’t go because they can’t get travel insurance approved until after their appointments take place.

SNP Health Secretaries come and go without making a dent and it looks as if Neil Gray will go the same way.

If you’re frustrated with the SNP making you wait to access the NHS, vote Scottish Liberal Democrats on the second peach regional ballot and help us to kick them out.

Worst November on record at A&E

Responding to new figures showing the worst November at A&E on record, with only 66.7% of people attending A&E seen within the 4 hour target in November, while 17,745 people waited over 8 hours and 8,287 waited over 12 hours, Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

Every month, the SNP are presiding over record-long waits at A&E – this is now the worst ever November for A&E waiting times.

On the SNP’s watch, half a day waits have gone from a rare occurrence to the new normal.

A&E departments are backed up because hospitals are rammed; hospitals are rammed because there are so many people stuck there who should be in care homes or looked after at home. It shows that you cannot fix the NHS without fixing social care.

Scotland’s A&E patients deserve better – and with the Scottish Liberal Democrats, you can vote for change with fairness at its heart.

More than 800,000 still stuck on an NHS waiting list

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today said the SNP are disastrous for your health after figures showed that 834,073 are on NHS waiting lists.

New figures from Public Health Scotland show that as at 30th November 2025:

• 532,279 were on an outpatient waiting list.
• 155,789 were on an inpatient waiting list.

When these figures are combined with the latest figures for the total waiting list size for eight key diagnostic tests (146,005), the number of Scots on a waiting list is 834,073.

Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

These figures show the SNP’s failure to fix our NHS. Month after month, patients are languishing on a waiting list, in pain and with no clear idea of when they will be treated.

This can mean many are unable to work, which is impacting our economy. We’re lagging miles behind England in terms of waiting times and the promised national treatment centres have yet to fully materialise.

After almost two decades in charge, the SNP have proved to be disastrous for your health.

Scotland deserves change with fairness at its heart, which is what the Scottish Liberal Democrats are offering. At May’s election, everyone can vote for that by backing my party on their second, peach-coloured regional ballot paper.

Greene responds to Constance breaking ministerial code

Responding to the finding of an independent investigation that Justice Secretary Angela Constance broke the ministerial code, Scottish Liberal Democrat Jamie Greene MSP said:

It is very disappointing that on the first day back after recess, the parliament is once again distracted by two debates about the conduct of its members.

We can go back and forth on issues of intent, but the Cabinet Secretary knows as well as I do that what we say and the words we use matter, to victims.

Angela Constance would do well to reflect on whether she honestly still believes she commands the full confidence of Scotland’s justice system, including that of victims.