NHS Grampian patients waited almost a year on average for surgery on their face, head and neck, figures have shown.

Freedom of Information data obtained by Scottish Labour showed significant increases in the average length of waiting times for surgeries since 2019.

In 2019/20, the average wait for oral and maxillofacial surgery at the health board, which covers Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray, was 22 weeks, but figures from 2023/24 show patients have waited around 51 weeks for an appointment – a 132 per cent increase.

In Dumfries and Galloway – another board which released information on maxillofacial work – waiting times increased by 129 per cent during the same time period, but the board performed better overall than Grampian, with average waits rising from seven weeks to 16.

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