The latest NHS statistics for Wales revealed NHS treatment waiting list remain at 796,800 pathways.
Two-year waits are 21,087 in Wales, compared with only 139 in England. The Labour Health Minister, now First Minister, Eluned Morgan promised to eliminate these waits by March 2023 and again by March 2024, but failed to meet these targets.
Eluned Morgan now looks set to miss a third annual target, this time to bring the number down to 8,000 by the Spring.
Performance against the 62-day target for patients starting cancer treatment has fallen to 57.4% from 61.9% as of the latest statistics, well below the target of 75%.
Commenting on the latest statistics, Andrew RT Davies MS, Senedd Member for South Wales Central, said:
“While we have to acknowledge there is some small progress being made on Wales’ soaring waiting lists, the Welsh Government is on course to miss their annual target by a huge margin.
“I have full confidence that these waiting lists, particularly the two year waits, could be slashed to almost zero, as two year waits have been in England, if only the Welsh Government stopped the constant distractions such as bringing in new taxes and their failed 20mph rollout.
“If the Welsh Government really wants to improve lives in Wales, they should drop their distractions and pet projects and focus on clearing these waiting lists.”
ENDS
Notes to editors: The latest statistics for waiting times can be found here and a link to the latest Welsh NHS performance summary can be found here (covering January and February 2025).
- The number of patient pathways decreased from 800,400 in December to 796,800 in January – the equivalent of over 1-in-4 of the Welsh population.
- The estimated number of patients is ~613,300 waiting for treatment in January.
- Two-year waits are 21,087 in Wales, compared with only 139 in England. The Labour Health Minister, now First Minister, Eluned Morgan promised to eliminate these waits by March 2023 and again by March 2024, but failed to meet these targets. She now aims to bring the number down to 8,000 by Spring.
- The average (median) time patient pathways had been waiting for treatment at the end of January was 23.5 weeks (a decrease of 0.1 weeks from last month), compared with 14.4 weeks in England (a decrease on last month).
- Only 51.1% of red calls (the most serious) received an emergency/ambulance response within eight minutes in February.
- In February, the proportion of patients waiting less than 4 hours in Welsh emergency departments increased to 67.7% – the target is 95%