Five local health boards missed the government’s 36 week waiting time target in January.
Figures published last week show the amount of time patients wait for treatment varies considerably across Wales.
While no-one in Powys or Aneurin Bevan Health Boards had been waiting over 36 weeks by the end of January, there were considerable delays elsewhere:
- 1,263 patients waited over 36 weeks in Betsi Cadwaladr UHB
- 90 in Hywel Dda
- 611 in Abertawe Bro Morgannwg
- 2,301 in Cwm Taf
- 2,278 in Cardiff and Vale
By the end of January, a total of 375,719 patients were waiting for the start of their treatment. 92.3 per cent had been waiting less than 26 weeks and 98.3 per cent had been waiting less than 36 weeks from the date the referral letter was received in the hospital.
The government’s targets are 95 and 100 per cent respectively.
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 for January 2012 show a 65 per cent rise.
Shadow Minister for Health, Darren Millar AM, said:
“How long you wait for treatment on the Welsh NHS is plainly dependent upon where you live. It’s a postcode lottery that’s been festering for many months and it’s high time it was dealt with.
“Areas with considerably higher numbers of residents will always face different challenges and more pressure. However, the variation in these figures is not acceptable and patients and their families will rightly question the governments’ approach.
“I have long called for best practice to be shared between all health boards and there are two which have clearly got the right plans and procedures in place. The progress and improvements made in Powys and Aneurin Bevan should be welcomed by the government and failings elsewhere properly reviewed.
“We already know orthopaedic waiting times are at the heart of this problem.
“Labour’s record-breaking cuts to the Welsh health budget are adding significantly to the immense pressure faced by frontline staff. I urge the minister to look very carefully at the dangerous situation her government has created.”
