Annual Review 2024/2025 Questions and Answers
This document has been prepared in response to the questions submitted by members of the public as part of our Annual Review. While we were unable to address every question during the live session, we have included all submissions here to ensure full transparency and to make the information available to everyone.
We sincerely thank the public for their interest and engagement with NHS Golden Jubilee. We welcome questions and feedback at any time—not only during the Annual Review—and remain committed to open communication and continuous improvement.
“How is the NHS Golden Jubilee planning to further develop and support elective care services to reduce waiting times, especially given the continuing pressures on the wider NHS system?”
Cabinet Secretary verbal response on the day:
I’d like to start by offering an apology on behalf of the Scottish Government to anyone who has been waiting too long for treatment or surgery. The pressures on services across Scotland are well rehearsed and will take time, further investment and reform to fully address.
This year we have agreed over £110m additional funding for planned care, which is expected to deliver more than 213,000 additional procedures and appointments this year. This includes £25 million for trauma and orthopaedics, £21 million for imaging, £14 million for cancer treatment and more than £12 million for ophthalmology.
Improving and protecting public services is one of this Government’s top priorities and we will continue to target resources to reduce waiting times, particularly for those waiting longest for treatment. We will do this through maximising productivity and additional resources; this includes reducing the length of stay to create further capacity in the system. In addition, the Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) is working with Boards to accelerate implementation of high impact changes which will free-up additional capacity in the NHS.
I know NHS Golden Jubilee is working extremely hard to reduce waiting times for patients who require planned operations as a significant part of that national investment.
NHS Golden Jubilee response:
The Golden Jubilee University National Hospital continues to increase capacity year on year – growing from 3,000 procedures in 2002/2003 to 119,848 in 2024/2025. We will continue to increase activity over the coming years as we work towards our Eye Centre and Surgical Centre operating at full capacity.
We will also continue to provide additional capacity through our NHS Scotland Academy. Immersion training programmes will see trainees carry out ultrasound and endoscopy procedures to help waiting list patients whilst under supervision of clinical experts.
Through the Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD), we are delivering national programmes that modernise patient pathways, optimise capacity, and reduce waiting times. Our Modernising Patient Pathways team will continue to lead Active Clinical Referral Triage (ACRT) and Patient Initiated Review (PIR) initiatives to release thousands of appointments, save millions of travel miles and avoid millions of pounds in costs.
Our National Elective Coordination Unit will continue to both validate waiting lists and match demand to capacity – releasing thousands of appointments and reducing waiting times for thousands of patients.
NHS Golden Jubilee has consistently supported NHS Scotland in delivering high-quality care. We will always be pleased to consider initiatives that contribute to better patient outcomes and reducing waiting times.
“The Golden Jubilee National Hospital is a world-class facility that Scotland should be proud of. The team there achieves incredible results, often within limited resources. It is vital that this excellent work continues once patients return home. Self-funded organisations such as Scotland Transplant Football play a key role in supporting recovery after major surgery, including organ transplantation. Does the Scottish Government intend to provide future support for organisations like these?”
Cabinet Secretary verbal response on the day:
I would like to start again by thanking the NHS Golden Jubilee team for the vital work they do in delivering services for patients across Scotland.
The Scottish Government greatly values the vital role of the third sector across Scotland, including the role of organisations such as Scotland Transplant Football. We recognise the real financial pressures the third sector is facing given the financial context and we are committed to doing what we can to improve the sustainability of the third sector.
Understandably, there are calls being made on the Scottish Government for more support and we will continue to respond as positively and comprehensively as we can.
NHS Golden Jubilee response:
Our Transplant team has grown from strength to strength. In 2024/2025 we transplanted 29 patients, this year to date we have transplanted 20 patients already – the UK’s highest transplant rate per million of the population.
We have excellent clinical outcomes, which consistently compare favourably with other UK transplant centres and reflect our focus on quality and patient-centred care.
We’re always happy to support and help raise awareness of relevant initiatives and support groups through our networks and social media channels.
“Recently it was announced that NHS Education for Scotland (NES) and National Services Scotland (NSS) are being merged. Are there any plans to merge more health boards, and what are the future developments for NHS Golden Jubilee?”
Cabinet Secretary verbal response on the day:
In setting out the plans to establish NHS Delivery via the merger of NES and NSS, the Service Renewal Framework indicated that the formation of NHS Delivery was an opportunity to ‘review and consolidate other cross cutting delivery functions’. We are currently consulting on the planned creation of NHS Delivery, including seeking views on what additional capabilities, functions or bodies should be considered for integration into a single national delivery capability in the longer term, and we would welcome your input on that question via the consultation. There will also be further opportunities to engage as the NHS Delivery programme, and wider reform considerations, evolves.
NHS Golden Jubilee response:
Collaboration has always been at the heart of NHS Golden Jubilee’s mission since its inception. From the very beginning, we have worked across boundaries with all territorial NHS Boards, recognising that partnership and shared purpose are essential to delivering the best outcomes for patients. Our status as a national Board allows us to provide vital support to those who need it most — whether through waiting list validation, elective procedures, or the specialist care we deliver on behalf of the whole country. We continue to support national priorities and collaborate across the system to deliver equitable care.
Future developments include expanding our surgical and diagnostic capacity, enhancing digital infrastructure, increasing research and training, as well as embedding sustainability across our operations. As an adaptable organisation, our strategic plan aligns with national reform efforts and positions us to support NHS Scotland’s evolving needs.
“What meaningful involvement do patients and the public have in strategic decision-making, priority-setting, and service design beyond feedback surveys - how is the patient voice shaping the 2025-2030 strategy?”
NHS Golden Jubilee response:
In addition to the ongoing programme of surveys on patient care within our services, a comprehensive consultation was undertaken to inform the development of our Board strategy.
This wide-ranging engagement encompassed contributions from staff, NHS colleagues, patients, carers, strategic partners — including universities and third sector organisations — as well as members of the general public. A combination of surveys and facilitated workshops, delivered both online and in person, ensured that a broad and diverse range of views and experiences were captured to shape our strategic direction.
“How can you assure that the philosophy of Public Focus Patient Involvement is integrated into NHS Golden Jubilee for patients and staff?”
NHS Golden Jubilee response:
We have always worked in partnership with patients, families, and staff to co-design services that reflect lived experience and national needs.
From service planning to feedback mechanisms, we ensure that voices are heard and acted upon. Our approach is embedded in governance, quality improvement, and staff training, reinforcing our commitment to inclusive and compassionate care.
“How do you intend on bringing Cardiac Device Implant waiting times in line with the Treatment Time Guarantee?”
NHS Golden Jubilee response:
We aim to treat as many patients as quickly as possible to bring Cardiac Device Implant waiting times in line with the Treatment Time Guarantee. This service presents particular challenges due to the high number of urgent and unplanned cases, which must take priority over elective or planned procedures.
To address this, we work flexibly to balance urgent and planned care, adding extra sessions wherever capacity allows. In addition, we have started working collaboratively with colleagues across the West of Scotland to redesign and enhance the service, to ensure it is more sustainable and responsive to patients’ needs.
“My recent experience of GJH has been exceptional. Is this recognised and reflected in performance / KPIs, and how do you compare to other hospitals?”
NHS Golden Jubilee response:
NHS Golden Jubilee is a unique within NHS Scotland, so we cannot compare directly with other Boards. We do benchmark our services against elective and heart centres in the UK and Europe, and continually review our data to identify areas for improvement.
Patient satisfaction, clinical outcomes, and operational efficiency are central to our performance framework. We consistently deliver low cancellation rates in our planned care specialities, and in our ophthalmology services, in the event of on-the-day cancellations, over half of these are replaced with patients from outpatients who received their procedure on the same day as their clinic appointment. We perform above average numbers of orthopaedic four joint lists compared with the rest of Scotland.
The Golden Jubilee University National Hospital also compares well against the best heart transplantation centres across the UK in relation to volume of transplants, low decline rates and post-transplant survival rates, and carries out the largest number of resection surgeries for lung cancers in the UK with excellent outcomes.
