Murdo has slammed the SNP Government over the “staggering” number of patients in Tayside waiting for a cataract operation, which has tripled in three years, with appointments now available in the Highlands.
Data supplied to the Scottish Conservatives by NHS Tayside through Freedom of Information (FoI), has revealed that the number of patients on the waiting list for cataract operations at both Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, and Perth Royal Infirmary (PRI), has increased from 1,183 on January 6, 2023, to 3,827 on January 3 this year.
The data also shows that the number of patients waiting for the insertion of prosthetic replacement for a lens between 26 and 52 weeks, increased from 396 in December 2023 to 1,264 in December 2025.
In their response to the FoI, NHS Tayside state that they have ‘taken a number of steps’ to reduce the number of patients on waiting lists and claim that these measures have already begun reducing the numbers.
They add that the steps taken involved the hiring of a new consultant, additional appointments being made available outside of normal hours and a partnership with NHS Highlands to offer more appointments.
Commenting, Murdo said: “These figures are staggering – the number of patients in Tayside on the waiting list for a cataract operation has tripled in just three years. This shows how badly run the NHS is under this SNP Government, yet both the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Neil Gray MSP, and First Minister John Swinney have constantly been crowing recently about reducing the NHS waiting lists.
“One of my constituents contacted me about the lengthy wait he had to get a cataract operation in Tayside, and he told me about NHS Tayside offering patients who had waited a year, the option of having treatment through NHS Highlands. This is frankly a ludicrous suggestion as many of these patients are unable to drive long distances or would have to use public transport.
“It shows the desperate situation faced by our NHS, caused mainly by this inept SNP Government, who have not come to terms with reducing waiting lists, despite their repeated claims of having done so.”
Murdo continued: “On January 31, 504,949 individuals were estimated to be waiting for a new outpatient appointment in Scotland, 157,156 for an inpatient or day case admission and 123,992 were waiting for a key diagnostic test, meaning in total, 786,097 patients were waiting for an NHS procedure.
“These statistics, combined with the data provided to our party on waits for cataract operations in Tayside are a damning indictment on the SNP Government. They should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves – they have let all these patients down.”
