Every eligible IVF patient in Scotland began receiving treatment within a year of being referred.

Public Health Minister Joe FitzPatrick welcomed the statistics, which he said showed Scotland was leading the way in providing fertility treatment on the NHS.

Between April and June the four IVF centres in Scotland - Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow - screened 373 eligible patients, up slightly from 370 in the first three months of 2018.

All of these patients were screened within nine months, while for more than four out of five (82.6%) this happened within six months.

Over the last year, 100% of eligible IVF patients have started treatment within 12 months, Public Health Minister Joe FitzPatrick added.

In Scotland patients referred for IVF on the NHS can receive up to three full cycles of treatment free of charge - with the Scottish Government describing this level of provision as the most generous in the UK.

Mr FitzPatrick said: "The target for IVF referral has been exceeded for the past three years, and for a full calendar year all eligible patients have started treatment within a year of referral.

"Over the past five years we have invested around £28m to reduce IVF waiting times and improve the outcomes for patients.

"Scotland continues to lead the way in the provision of NHS IVF treatment and we want to make access to treatment on the NHS as fair as possible - giving more people the opportunity to conceive."