Waiting Times

Waiting Times Standards

All NHS Boards across Scotland have set standards (or targets) to meet to ensure a patient is seen within a timely manner. The current waiting times standards are:

18 weeks referral to treatment for 90% of patients
12 weeks for new outpatient appointments for 95% of patients
6 weeks for the eight key diagnostic tests and investigations
Legal 12 weeks Treatment Time Guarantee (TTG) standard means all eligible patients who are to be admitted to hospital will receive their agreed treatment within 12 weeks of agreeing the treatment with the relevant clinician.
4 weeks referral to first appointment for 90% of patients accessing MSK services.
62 days from referral to treatment for urgent suspected cancer patients
31 days from decision to treat to treatment for urgent suspected cancer cases.

For further information please visit: Waiting times – Healthcare standards – gov.scot
For NHS Orkney’s current waiting times, please visit: How Long Will I Wait

Offers of appointment

NHS Orkney offers appointments in two main ways: by contacting patients directly by phone or letter to arrange a time, or by sending an appointment date for the patient to confirm. If there’s no reply to the appointment within 10 days, the appointment is treated as accepted.

Reasonable Offers

A reasonable appointment offer means patients should be given a clear choice of at least two different dates, with a minimum of 10 days’ notice in advance of the appointment. Offers can also be made by phone or video if the patient agrees, and appointments may be offered at another suitable NHS Scotland location if that best meets their care needs.

Patient Access Policy

Alongside NHS Scotland’s recently updated waiting times guidance (2023), NHS Orkney’s Patient Access Policy – which you can access on the link here, sets out the principles that will help ensure that systems are in place to optimise the use of facilities and available capacity in order to deliver high quality, safe patient care in a timely manner. The aim of this policy is to have clear and consistent guidance for clinical and non-clinical staff; it will also provide the basis for information provided to patients.