BBC Wales News health correspondent Owain Clarke reported a decrease in the longest waiting lists for planned NHS treatments in February. The data showed a drop of more than 26%, with 15,505 cases in February compared to 21,087 in January, where patients had waited more than two years for treatment. Health Secretary Jeremy Miles expressed satisfaction at this decrease, highlighting the importance of health boards focusing on delivery and innovative ways of working to achieve such progress. However, there is still much ground to cover if Wales is to meet the First Minister’s target of reducing waits of two years or more to 8,000 by March.
The NHS waiting times data is published with a two-month lag, meaning the figures for the end of March will be available next month. To meet the set target, NHS Wales would need to achieve a further 48.4% decrease in the longest waits in just one month. Despite the challenge, the health secretary remains optimistic and believes the NHS in Wales will come close to reaching its goal. Meanwhile, the NHS in England has already virtually eliminated waits of two years or more.
Individual health boards in Wales showed varying success rates in reducing long waiting times. Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board in north Wales still had over 8,300 instances where patients waited more than two years, while Powys Health Board reported no such waits. Health boards like Cwm Taf Morgannwg and Cardiff and Vale also saw significant numbers of patients waiting over two years, but Hywel Dda and Swansea Bay health boards reported lower figures. The total size of the NHS waiting list in Wales was slightly over 793,900 in February, indicating progress from January but still significantly higher than pre-Covid levels.
On another front, data revealed ongoing pressures on ambulance services and A&E departments, with response times and patient waiting times declining slightly in March compared to the previous month. While there have been improvements in reducing waiting lists, challenges remain in meeting ambitious targets. Both support and scrutiny from various political factions underscore the ongoing need for improvement within the healthcare system
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