Previously patients who turned down appointments because they were inconvenient lost their waiting times guarantee, as did those who were too ill for a planned operation.

In a bid to be fairer, the Scottish Government decided the clock that starts ticking for each patient when they join the waiting list could be frozen and restarted if the patient was unavailable for a period. This meant they were still eligible for the target but health boards were not made to look bad for delays made in the interests of the patient.