One in eight people in Wales remain on an NHS waiting list and the total number of patients awaiting treatment is higher than this time last year. Government figures published today show 376,686 people were waiting for the start of their treatment at the end of February.
At the same time last year 328,147 people had been referred for treatment by their GP but had not yet been seen.
When Carwyn Jones became First Minister at the end of 2009, 227,000 people were waiting for the start of their treatment in Wales. Today’s figures continue to show a significant rise; 65 per cent over three years.
Overall targets for 26 and 36 week waiting periods were both missed during February. While some progress has been made against the latter, improvements differ across the country:
- 790 patients had been waiting over 36 weeks in Betsi Cadwaladr UHB
- 116 in Hywel Dda
- 555 in Abertawe Bro Morgannwg
- 1,503 in Cwm Taf
- 1,899 in Cardiff and Vale
No patients had been waiting more than 36 weeks in either Powys or Aneurin Bevan.
Shadow Minister for Health, Darren Millar AM, said:
“The health minister has staked her reputation on all but eliminating the number of patients waiting over 36 weeks for orthopaedic surgery by the end of March. It is this speciality that remains at the heart of these long delays and – while we don’t yet have those figures – I sincerely hope her promise has been met.
“No-one deserves to be put through ridiculously long waits and vulnerable people in particular are still suffering the painful ill-effects of this enduring problem.
“The number of patients waiting has risen far too much in the last three years and the increase on February 2011 is also incredibly disappointing.
“Frontline staff continue to do an excellent job in very difficult times. Labour’s record-breaking cuts to the Welsh health budget are putting all of them under immense pressure. I cautiously welcome the areas that made improvements during February and hope to see an end to this problem in the very near future.”
