£25M BID TO CUT WAITING TIMES EXCLUIGIVE

JOHN Swinney will today announce £25.5million of extra NHS funding to deliver more appointments in an attempt to bring down waiting times.

- CHRIS MCCALL

The cash will be shared across nine health boards including Greater Glasgow and Lothian, which are suffering from the biggest backlogs at a time around one in six Scots are currently stuck on some kind of health waiting list.

The First Minister previously announced a plan to open a network of new GP walk-in centres to reduce the 8am rush patients often face to book an appointment at their local surgery.

The first such facility is expected to open within the next 12 months.