Fewer patients are waiting for treatment

NHS Scotland statistics said the figure for inpatients and day cases had fallen by more than 4,000 to 1,600 in March.

The number of outpatients waiting more than 26 weeks had more than halved and waiting lists fell from their record high in December last year.

Plans were also announced to open the country's first privately-run NHS treatment and diagnostic centre.

The new �15m centre at Stracathro Hospital, near Brechin, will provide additional capacity for patients in Tayside, Grampian and Fife as part of the Scottish Executive's strategy to cut waiting times

There is now strong evidence of real progress, which is making a real difference for the people of Scotland Andy Kerr Health Minister

The executive aims to have no-one waiting more than six months for treatment by December.

Health Minister Andy Kerr said the figures showed Scotland was "turning the corner" in improving public health.

The Information Statistics Division (ISD) of NHS Scotland said the figures were evidence of the priority being given to treating the longest waits in an effort to meet that target.

The statistics for inpatients and day cases in March were down by 4,376 on the previous quarter and 4,129 on the same time last year.

For outpatients, the number waiting more than 26 weeks fell from 45,056 in December to 22,466 in March.

The previous set of figures, for December last year, showed the highest ever number of patients on waiting lists.

The figure for inpatient and day case treatment fell slightly in March, from 113,612 to 112,010.

The executive has a long way to go until they reduce those waiting times to the 1999 levels Shona Robison SNP health spokeswoman

More than 206,000 people were waiting for an outpatient appointment, down almost 35,000 from December.

Mr Kerr said the figures showed a "significant reduction" in the amount of time people were waiting.

"There is now strong evidence of real progress, which is making a real difference for the people of Scotland," he said.

"As the chief medical officer has said, there are signs we are now shedding our sick man of Europe tag."

Scottish National Party health spokeswoman Shona Robison said any fall in waiting times was welcome.

"But the executive has a long way to go until they reduce those waiting times to the 1999 levels, which were 10 days lower for outpatients and 13 days lower for inpatients," she said.

The Scottish NHS Confederation welcomed the reduction in waiting times - but stressed that was not the only benchmark for measuring the success of the NHS.

'Huge progress'

Director Hilary Robertson said: "Huge progress has been made in integrating health and social care services, streamlining the patient experience and providing access to a wider range of services and treatments at local level so that fewer and fewer people have to go into hospital at all.

"Improvements in these areas of care are just as vital to patients as waiting times for acute treatment and they should be taken into account when judging the progress of the NHS."

Talking about the idea to use private sector capacity to cater for patients within the NHS in Scotland, Mr Kerr said: "It will work in partnership with the existing NHS Treatment and Diagnostic facilities at the hospital and provide additional capacity for patients in Tayside, Grampian and Fife.