More than 16,000 patients had to wait for more than three months for surgery, according to NHS Scotland figures

Scotland’s health service has the worst waiting times on record, with one in four patients waiting longer for treatment than the 12 weeks promised by law.

In the first months of this year a quarter of patients did not receive their operation in time and more than 16,000 people experienced a delay of more than three months.

Publication of the NHS Scotland figures coincided with that of research into how waits for treatment are affecting older people north of the border. Patients said that they felt “scared and vulnerable” during their wait. A fifth said that their health had deteriorated while they were waiting and a fifth also said that they had been forced to put their lives on hold.

The SNP law guaranteeing procedures