18 Weeks Referral to Treatment
Data and Resources
-
Monthly 18 Weeks RTT by Health BoardsCSV
Monthly summaries of whole journey waiting times across NHS Scotland by...
Additional Info
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Source | Aggregate returns are submitted monthly from individual NHS Boards to ISD using a defined Excel template. These are derived from local systems and methods of linking whole pathways vary between Boards. |
| Author | Waiting Times team |
| Last Updated | March 18, 2025, 09:30 (GMT) |
| Created | July 22, 2019, 08:49 (BST) |
| Contact Address | Public Health Scotland, Gyle Square, 1 South Gyle Crescent, Edinburgh EH12 9EB |
| Subject | Access and Waiting Times |
| Frequency | Quarterly |
| Time frame of data and timeliness | The data are due by the third Tuesday of each month, though files can be resubmitted up to 7 working days before publication where the quality assurance process identifies differences with local figures. |
| Coverage | Data covers all NHS health boards in Scotland. |
| Completeness | PHS is currently reviewing ways to compare these data against other sources including data submitted to the PHS national warehouse. |
| Accuracy | PHS receives aggregate data from each NHS Board of Treatment, signed off as accurate by the Chief Executive. |
| Continuity of data | Quarterly data is continuous comparable. |
| Concepts and definitions | Further information can be found on the PHS website (https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/nhs-waiting-times-18-weeks-referral-to-treatment/) |
| Disclosure | The PHS protocol on Statistical Disclosure Protocol (https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/statistical-disclosure-control-protocol/) is followed. |
| Revision statement | If NHS boards discover that data submitted for publication is incorrect, or that data are missing, further re-submissions can be made up until the publication submission deadline date. Any revised figures will then be reflected within the current publication. Figures contained within each publication may also be subject to change in future releases as submissions may be updated to reflect a more accurate and complete set of data. Please be aware, there are also gaps in the data. NHS Tayside were unable to submit data for the period July 2017 to December 2017 and NHS Grampian were unable to submit data for the period February 2020 to June 2022, however they have recommenced from July 2022 onwards. Their figures since July 2022 have been included in the latest publication. |
| Official statistics designation | Official Statistics |
| Relevance and key uses of the statistics | Waiting times are important to patients and are a measure of how the NHS is responding to demands for services. Measuring and regular reporting of waiting times highlights where there are delays in the system and enables monitoring of the effectiveness of NHS performance throughout the country. The NHS in Scotland has been set a number of targets for maximum waiting times. Other uses of the data include information requests for a variety of customers, e.g. research charities; public companies; freedom of Information requests; information support to NHS Boards; health intelligence work; parliamentary questions and LDP standards. |
| Format | CSV |
| Language | English |
| Links | [Data Quality] (https://publichealthscotland.scot/our-areas-of-work/waiting-times/18-weeks-referral-to-treatment-waiting-times/data-quality/) [18 Week RTT website] (https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/nhs-waiting-times-18-weeks-referral-to-treatment/) |