New official statistics published yesterday show that NHS Wales continues to struggle with treatment backlogs despite additional investment and plans to increase capacity.
| NHS performance indicator | Latest position |
|---|---|
| Open treatment pathways, August | 714,200 |
| Increase since July | 4,500 |
| Estimated individual patients waiting | 558,100 |
| Pathways waiting over two years | Just under 5,100 |
| Increase in two-year waits | 7.1% |
| Median treatment wait | 17.2 weeks |
| Emergency department attendances, September | 98,700 |
| Cancer patients treated within 62 days, August | 59.9% |
The treatment waiting list has now increased for five consecutive months.
The number of pathways waiting more than two years increased by 337 in August, although it remains 92.8% below its previous peak.
Provisional September information suggests the longest waits subsequently decreased, but the overall waiting list continued to grow.
Emergency care pressures
September recorded the second-highest number of emergency department attendances on record.
Performance against the four-hour emergency department target improved slightly, but performance against the 12-hour target deteriorated.
Median ambulance response times for the most urgent categories were 7 minutes 31 seconds for purple calls and 9 minutes 32 seconds for red calls.
Welsh Government response
Health Minister Mabon ap Gwynfor acknowledged that performance remains unacceptable.
He pointed to an additional £145 million investment in NHS Wales and said health boards are responsible for implementing plans to reduce waiting times.
The Government also confirmed that emergency department reporting has changed from 1 October to include time spent under observation, recovering or awaiting transport. This is intended to provide a more complete account of patients’ experiences.
Why it matters: The figures indicate that the NHS has not yet achieved a sustained reduction in the overall treatment backlog. Increasing demand and long waits also have implications for patients’ health, employment and quality of life.
The changes to emergency department reporting are important for transparency, but will complicate comparisons between performance before and after October.
