Health Minister Andy Kerr said tougher targets had still to be met

Latest statistics on waiting times show about 1,000 people waited more than six months, compared to 6,000 last year.

The amount of time most people wait for treatment fell slightly to 45 days, but is still higher than any year before.

Opposition parties however said more people were on "hidden" waiting lists than ever before in Scotland.

'Major progress'

The latest quarterly figures published on Thursday showed no patients covered by a nine-month waiting time guarantee for in-patient or day case treatment had to wait longer.

The number of patients covered by a guarantee who waited more than six months for treatment fell by 82% from 6,161 to 1,121 over the last year.

Patients with a guarantee waiting more than six months for outpatient treatment fell by 71% from 53,579 in September last year to 15,432, another all-time record, it was claimed.

We have hit our existing targets again and have made great strides towards even tougher targets Andy Kerr Health minister

But the figures also show that "median", or typical, waiting times remained at high levels.

The median wait for acute in-patients and day cases fell from 47 days in the previous quarter to 45 days in the last quarter.

But in the three previous quarters, that figure ranged from 42 to 43 days and through the 1990s, the figure was in the low 30s.

Health Minister AndyKerr insisted, however, that the median figure was no more than an arithmetical quirk which reflected the priority being given to patients who had been waiting the longest.

And 55% of people treated by the health service in the acute sector in Scotland did not wait at all but were dealt with immediately, he said.

'Labour cuts'

Nicola Sturgeon, SNP Holyrood leader, welcomed the quarterly fall in median waits but highlighted figures showing that 134,000 accident and emergency patients had to wait more than four hours to be seen.

She said: "This revelation will only add to concerns about A&E centralisation such as that announced today by Ayrshire and Arran NHS."

The number of in-patients waiting for operations is at its lowest level

Conservative health spokeswoman Nanette Milne said: "Since 1997, more people are on waiting lists, the mean and average waiting times are longer, fewer patients are being treated - except in accident and emergency - and Labour cuts are threatening to close facilities around the country, as evidenced by the decision to axe A&E services at Ayr Hospital."

But Mr Kerr said the figures showed major progress.

"We are delivering what we said we would deliver," he said. "We have hit our existing targets again and have made great strides towards even tougher targets."

He also promised to keep up pressure on health boards to phase out "availability status codes" by 2007.

These are the categories of patient who do not appear on official waiting lists for a variety of reasons - including those who fail to show up for treatment, those who cannot be treated because of medical issues, or those whose conditions are rated a low priority, like tattoo removal.

'Clearer system'

Nearly 36,000 people fell within those categories in the last quarter, and Nicola Sturgeon repeated her charge of "hidden waiting lists".

"As the SNP exposed last month, of the 36,000 patients on the hidden waiting list, 25,000 are waiting more than six months and 17,500 more than nine months," she said.

Mr Kerr, however, said nine out of 10 patients with a code of this type either could not attend for treatment because of a medical condition or asked to delay admission for personal reasons.

"Nevertheless I want a clearer system." he said.

"I announced last December that we will abolish these codes completely by 2007 to make the whole system more consistent and fairer to patients.