NHS Wales sees record high patient waiting lists amid growing healthcare crisis

The number of patients waiting to begin NHS treatment in Wales has soared to a record new high.

Worrying new figures released today show that in August the number of open patient pathways in Wales’ health service rose from 796,600 to just under 800,200.

This was an increase of around 3,500 pathways from July and is 76.3 per cent higher than May 2020 – making it the highest figure on record.

Of the 800,200 open patient pathways around 169,700 had been waiting longer than one year to begin their treatment.

Just under 24,200 pathways were waiting more than two years.

The number of open pathways is different to the number of people on an individual waiting list, as some patients will be waiting to start more than one treatment.

However in August the number of individuals waiting to begin their treatment increased to a record high of 619,200.

Under the Welsh Government’s own ‘Planned Care Recovery Plan’ two year waits in most specialities were expected to be eliminated by March 2023.

But this target has never been met.

In August 2024 a further there were a further 16 specialities with pathways waiting more than two years.

Ambulance Response Times

The Welsh Ambulance Service received 5,267 red (immediately life-threatening) calls throughout September.

An average of 176 red calls were made each day – the equivalent of 15.4 per cent of all calls.

Just 49.0 per cent of red calls received an emergency response within eight minutes – well below the Welsh Government’s target of 65 per cent.

This has fallen from a peak of 80 per cent in 2017.

According to today’s data the number of ‘green’ calls being made to the Welsh Ambulance Service has decreased over time.

However this has coincided with a rise in calls about cardiac arrests and imminent danger of death.

This, the Welsh Government say, is due to a change in how some calls are handled and a “large increase in respiratory conditions” over winter.

Handover times at hospital emergency departments are also continuing to contribute to the worsening response times.

In September alone around 21,000 hours were lost due to handover delays.

Emergency Departments

Last month there were just under 91,800 attendances to all emergency departments across Wales – equating to an average of 3,059 attendances per day.

The Welsh Government’s own target is for 95 per cent of new patients to spend less than four hours from arrival to either admission or discharge.

But in September this target was missed again with just 68.8 per cent seen within the target time.

At the Wrexham Maelor Hospital there were 5,187 attendees to the emergency department throughout last month.

Of these 54.1 per cent spent less than the target time in the department. This is compared to 57.3 per cent in the previous month.

79.3 per cent of attendees spent less than eight hours from arrival to either admission or discharge whilst 86.4 per cent waited less than 12 hours.

Ysbyty Glan Clwyd was the worst performing hospital in Wales against the four hour target last month, with just 40.1 per cent of attendees seen.

At North Wales’ third major emergency department, Ysbyty Gwynedd, 51 per cent were seen within four hours.

Cancer Waiting Times

Just 1,702 people started their first definitive treatment in August, 345 fewer than the previous month.

Nearly 750 people with cancer in Wales waited longer than 62 days to start treatment from first being suspected of having cancer. This is more than 40 per cent of all those who started treatment in that month.

In August, 56.5 per cent of pathways started their first definitive treatment within 62 days of first being suspected of cancer. This was 1.5 percentage points higher than the previous month, but 1.9 percentage points lower than August 2023.

However this remains well below the Welsh Government’s own target of 75 per cent patient pathways starting their first definitive treatment within 62 days of first being suspected of cancer.

Analysis released today by leading charity Macmillan data that between January and August 2024, 6,400 people with cancer in Wales waited more than two months to start treatment following an urgent referral.

For some cancer types, performance remains particularly concerning, with just 40 per cent of people with urological cancer starting their treatment within 62 days from first being suspected of having cancer in August.

Sarah Christie, Policy and Public Affairs Manager for Macmillan Cancer Support said: ““The First Minister said her first priority was to cut NHS waiting times and has promised to list who will be delivering what and when.

“Over eighteen months ago commitments were also made to improve cancer care in the Cancer Improvement Plan for NHS Wales.

“Despite the announcement today of funding to reduce the longest waiting times, specific plans to reduce cancer waiting times were noticeably absent.

“We are still waiting for the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Jeremy Miles, to clearly lay out how he will tackle the completely unacceptable delays in Wales’ cancer services to ensure everyone affected by cancer, no matter who they are or where they live, has access to the support they need.”

“This is simply not good enough and requires urgent action. There are real people behind the figures released today and far too many continue to suffer agonising long waits for the cancer diagnosis and the essential treatment they need.”

Political Response

Responding to today’s figures Sam Rowlands MS, Welsh Conservative Shadow Health Minister, said: “As NHS waiting lists continue to soar, Labour has proven itself as the party of broken promises.

“The additional cash that Baroness Morgan is pleading for will be too little too late and is a testament to Labour’s failure to prioritise the Welsh NHS. Crucially, any cash won’t be coupled with the vital reforms or long-term thinking we need to bear down on these excessive waits.

“Only the Welsh Conservatives have a plan to roll out surgical, diagnostic and care hubs to ease the pressure on hospitals and to recruit and retain healthcare workers with a tuition fee refund.”

However  Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Jeremy Miles MS, said that an additional £28 million announced by the Welsh Government today will “help health boards cut the longest waits.”

Jeremy Miles MS said: “These interventions will have a significant impact for people waiting for treatment, tests and outpatient appointments and I look forward to seeing these monthly referral to treatment time figures improve as today’s investment is reflected in NHS performance.

“Despite record levels of demand across the sector, today’s figures show some progress in both diagnostics and therapies, as well as performance against the 62-day cancer target increasing to 56.5 per cent.

“Urgent and emergency care services continue to be under great pressure, with the second highest daily numbers of ‘red’ (immediately life threatening) calls reported on record and sustained pressure at emergency departments.

“However, the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust responded to the second highest number of people in the red category in eight minutes on record.

“And although activity at emergency care facilities remains close to record levels, admissions to hospital were more than five per cent lower than at the same time last year, suggesting plans to support more people to avoid a stay in hospital are having an impact.

“We recognise more work needs to be done to support people with urgent care needs in the community and to improve timeliness of discharge home to help reduce long stays in ambulances and in emergency departments themselves.”