Long waits down by almost 80%, finances balanced and CAMHS among the best in Scotland.
NHS Highland described 2025/26 as "a year of stabilisation and readiness" at its Annual Review in Fort William today (Friday 6 November), attended by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Care, Angela Constance.
Chair, Sarah Compton-Bishop told patients, carers, staff, partners and community members, in the room and online, that the board started the year with a gap of £115.6 million between the cost of running services and the funding available. By the end of March, NHS Highland had met all three of the financial targets the Scottish Government sets every health board and finished the year in balance.
Highlights from 2025/26 included:
Long waits down sharply. The number of people waiting more than a year for a first outpatient appointment fell from more than 5,000 in April 2025 to 1,051 by the end of March, a fall of almost 80%. Those waiting more than a year for treatment or surgery fell from 925 to 105. Both were ahead of the milestones agreed with the Scottish Government.
More patients seen. More than 73,000 new outpatient appointments and around 21,000 planned procedures, with 76.5% of people getting a key diagnostic test within six weeks in March, up from 58.8% a year earlier.
CAMHS turnaround. Child and adolescent mental health services, under special measures since 2018, beat a 90% target for starting treatment within 18 weeks, reaching 96.7% in December and 100% in January.
Care closer to home. Hospital at Home in Oban prevented an estimated 248 hospital admissions, and a seven-day walk-in service was approved for Invergordon.
National recognition. The Green Theatres programme at Raigmore, which cut the use of high-emission anaesthetic gases, has been adopted as the national model for NHS Scotland.
In Lochaber, the Community Appointment Day held at Lochaber High School in November 2025 saw more than 350 people attend. It cut the local physiotherapy waiting list from eight months to seven weeks. Work also continues on the new Lochaber Hospital at Blar Mor, with NHS Highland providing the further detail the Scottish Government has asked for so the outline business case can be approved.
Sarah Compton-Bishop said: "If I had to sum up 2025/26 in a phrase, it would be a year of stabilisation and readiness. We have not solved our finances entirely, and this year remains very tough. But we're facing it with a grip we didn't have before, and a three-year plan agreed by the Board."
The Chair was also clear about where the board fell short. In urgent care, 80.5% of people attending emergency departments were seen within four hours. This is below the standard, although it compares well with the rest of Scotland, and delayed discharge remained high throughout the year. Against an aim of 80% of people with suspected cancer starting treatment within 62 days, NHS Highland reached 67.3%, with most of the gap in the small, specialist breast cancer service.
Sarah Compton-Bishop said: "When one or two people leave a small team in the north, the whole service feels it. What has kept services going is partnership. Mutual aid from other health boards often means a consultant elsewhere directs a patient's treatment, while the treatment itself is delivered here, by our own teams, close to home.
"In a region like ours, access will never be identical. Outcomes are what we must continue to focus on."
She also thanked the Scottish Government, Highland Council, Argyll and Bute Council, community planning partners and volunteers, including those who helped staff reach patients during January's severe snow.
Looking ahead, she said: "NHS Highland covers 42% of Scotland. We know how to deliver care where it's hardest to deliver, and we'd like that experience to help shape what comes next."