The number of operations being carried out in NHS Lothian for the months of March, April and May this year has dropped to 5,699 compared to 15,986 for the same months last year.
All non-urgent operation have been postponed since March to tackle Covid-19.
Scottish Conservative Health Spokesperson, Miles Briggs, has called on SNP Ministers to put a recovery plan in place to deal with backlog of operations.
NHS Lothian was already facing longer waiting times for operations than other parts of Scotland before the outbreak of Covid-19 and these waiting times will now be significantly longer.
Waiting times for operations such as hip replacements were especially long with patients having to wait between a year and two years for an operation.
The number of patients being seen at the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion is another major concern, with it being revealed earlier this year that patients were having to wait over a year to be seen for Glaucoma treatments.
Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, said:
“All non-urgent operations were forced to be postponed so that NHS Lothian could deal with the Covid-19 outbreak.
“Now that the virus is under control SNP Ministers must start planning for how health boards are going to recover from this crisis and the backlog of operations that still need carried out.
“NHS Lothian was already struggling to meet waiting time standards before Covid-19 hit and the lack of support the health board has seen from SNP Ministers does not bode well.
“SNP Ministers must put a recovery plan in place for NHS Lothian and give them the necessary support for reducing this backlog of operations.”
