Commenting on new figures showing a 48% rise in the number of patients waiting more than 36 weeks for hospital treatment and showing that only 91.6% of patients were treated within 26 weeks, Andrew RT Davies, Shadow Minister for Health and Social Services, said:
“The number of patients waiting more than 9 months for treatment has risen every month since December 2009 and this latest rise will give further cause for concern.
“It is disappointing that despite the dedication and best efforts of NHS staff working at the frontline, more patients are waiting longer for treatment. Waiting for a medical procedure can be a particularly worrying time for patients and their families and it’s important that we don’t lose sight of the distress caused by longer waiting times.
“The Assembly Government now needs to work more closely with Health Boards to bring waiting times down.
“It is particularly disappointing that the Assembly Government is still failing to hit its target of 95% of patients being treated within 26 weeks, having watered down its original target of 100%.
“It is essential that long term structures are put in place to ensure that the recent waiting time rises don’t result in a return to the chronic and debilitating waiting times seen in recent years.”
