NHS Wales waiting lists increase again

NHS waiting lists in Wales have risen again, new figures show.

The latest statistics show treatment waiting lists have now increased to 796,100 pathways – the equivalent of nearly 1-in-4 Welsh people.

Two-year NHS waits for treatment have also risen again to 10,300 – an increase of 6.5% month-on-month.

The former Health Minister, now First Minister, Baroness Eluned Morgan promised to eliminate these waits for the last two years – by March 2023 and again by March 2024.

‘Dissapointing’

Health Secretary Jeremy Miles described the new figures were “disappointing “.

He said: “It’s disappointing to see the longest waits for treatment rise after we brought them down in recent months, but they are 85% lower than the peak.

“But I am confident we will see another significant reduction next month – when we receive the end of quarter one position – based on the feedback I have received from health boards and that we will be on track in our plans to eliminate two year waits.”

Opposition parties in the Senedd hit out at the Welsh Government over the new statistics.

Plaid Cymru health spokesperson, Mabon ap Gwynfor MS, said:”Seeing the longest waits rise yet again will be a matter of great disappointment to the people of Wales. Over 26 years in charge of our NHS, Labor has let Wales down.

“After throwing hundreds of millions at tackling waiting lists, and failing, it’s clear that Labour’s time is up.”

The Welsh Conservative said ambulance red wait times “remain a coin flip for patients”, with only 50.7% of the most serious calls receiving an emergency response within eight minutes.

Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, James Evans, said: “The latest figures prove Labour’s health strategy is failing and the so-called progress they celebrated recently was just a flash in the pan.

“Progress is in reverse and it’s clear that this Welsh Government has run out of ideas.

“No one should be waiting over a year for treatment.”

‘Anxiety’

Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS said: “The latest NHS performance figures are nothing short of a damning indictment of 25 years of Labour mismanagement in Wales.

“These are not just numbers on a spreadsheet, they are real people left to suffer in pain, anxiety and fear.”

The latest NHS figures showed that there was some improvement ambulance patient handover times.

The number of people waiting more than an hour to transfer from an ambulance into an emergency department in Wales fell by almost a fifth.

Jeremy Miles today visited the Royal Glamorgan Hospital where he says significant improvements have been made in cutting long ambulance patient handover times.

The overall time the Welsh Ambulance Service waits to transfer people to staff at the hospital’s emergency department fell by more than 87% in June compared with May.

Almost three-quarters of people were transferred in just 15 minutes.

Improvements

Welsh ministers say performance at Morriston Hospital’s emergency department in Swansea is also improving.

There’s been a 70% reduction in the time it takes for the ambulance service to transfer patients to the site in June.

A national taskforce has been set up to reduce ambulance patient handover delays across Wales.

It’s hoped this will help to speed up the transfer of people into emergency departments and release ambulance crews to respond to 999 calls in the community.

Pressure

The Welsh Government says pressure on emergency care services remains high.

June saw the third highest daily attendances at emergency care facilities on record.

But the average time from arrival to triage was 16 minutes – the shortest since February 2021.

Jeremy Miles said : “Today’s figures show that our focus on improving ambulance patient handover performance is working, with handover times in June the lowest since September 2021.

“With improvements in same-day emergency care and patient flow in place, significant progress is being made in most areas of Wales.”

Changes to the way the Welsh Ambulance Service responds to the most serious 999 calls were introduced on 1 July.

A new purple category has been created for people suffering from an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and the red category has been retained for the life-threatening emergencies for people at high risk of cardiac or respiratory arrest, including serious illnesses and trauma.

A new “orange: time sensitive” category for people with clear symptoms of stroke and other serious conditions such as acute coronary syndrome/heart attacks, will come into effect before the winter.

New yellow and green categories for people with symptoms that would benefit from further clinical assessment and access to community alternatives, scheduled transport to hospital or to be discharged over the telephone or at scene, will also be introduced.