National drug and alcohol treatment waiting times 1 July 2025 to 30 September 2025:

During the quarter ending 30 September 2025:

• 11,444 referrals were made to community-based specialist drug and alcohol treatment services: 5,369 (46.9%) were for problematic use of alcohol, 4,409 (38.5%) for problematic use of drugs, and 1,666 (14.6%) for co-dependency (problematic use of both alcohol and drugs).
• 7,050 referrals to community-based services started treatment. Of these, 6,674 (94.7%) involved a wait of three weeks or less. Two NHS Boards did not meet the Standard (Lothian, 88.5%; Highland, 87.6%).
• Nationally, the Standard was met for referrals to community-based services across all substances: drugs (96.6%), co-dependency (94.6%) and alcohol (93.3%).
• 775 referrals were made to prison-based services. Of these, 618 (79.7%) were for people seeking help for problematic use of drugs, 116 (15.0%) for co-dependency and 41 (5.3%) for problematic use of alcohol.
• 326 referrals to prison-based services started treatment. Of these, 306 (93.9%) involved a wait of three weeks or less. Two out of nine NHS Boards with prison-based services did not meet the Standard (Tayside, 88.5%; Grampian, 74.1%).
• Nationally, the Standard was met for referrals to prison-based services across all substances: co-dependency (98.6%), alcohol (96.3%) and drugs (92.1%).

As of 30 September 2025:

• 2,236 community-based service referrals had not started treatment. Of these, 420 (18.7%) involved a wait of more than three weeks.
• 20 prison-based service referrals had not started treatment. Of these, three (15.0%) involved a wait of more than three weeks.

National drug and alcohol treatment waiting times 1 January 2025 to 31 March 2025:

• 10,233 referrals were made to community-based specialist drug and alcohol treatment services: 5,012 (49.0%) were for problematic use of alcohol, 3,845 (37.6%) for problematic use of drugs, and 1,376 (13.4%) for co-dependency (problematic use of both alcohol and drugs).
• 6,863 referrals to community-based services started treatment. Of these, 6,377 (92.9%) involved a wait of three weeks or less. Two NHS Boards did not meet the Standard (Lothian, 89.4%; Highland, 87.5%).
• Nationally, the Standard was met for referrals to community-based services across all substances: drugs (96.1%), co-dependency (93.9%) and alcohol (90.5%).
• 789 referrals were made to prison-based services. Of these, 629 (79.7%) were for people seeking help for problematic use of drugs, 122 (15.5%) for co-dependency and 38 (4.8%) for problematic use of alcohol.
• 316 referrals to prison-based services started treatment. Of these, 283 (89.5%) involved a wait of three weeks or less. Four out of nine NHS Boards with prison-based services did not meet the Standard (Ayrshire & Arran, 85.7%; Lothian, 83.0%; Highland, 70.0%; Tayside, 37.5%).
• Nationally, for the first time since reporting from the Drug and Alcohol Information System (DAISy) began in April 2021, the Standard was not met for referrals to prison-based services (89.5%). Across substance types, the Standard was met for co-dependency (90.6%) and drugs (90.4%) but not for alcohol (78.2%).