New figures show sharp drop in long waits and thousands more patients treated across Wales
HEALTH Secretary Jeremy Miles has said Wales is “on the right path” to tackling long NHS waiting times, as new figures show a significant drop in the number of people waiting for treatment.
According to the latest data, the number of patients waiting more than a year for their first outpatient appointment fell by 10,400 in October compared with September. Overall, the waiting list reduced by around 9,200 during the same period.
Mr Miles said the progress was only possible because of the commitment of NHS staff and additional funding provided by the Welsh Government, which has helped deliver tens of thousands of extra appointments.
“A record number of patient pathways – almost 139,000 – were closed in October,” he said, highlighting what he described as the scale of planned care activity taking place across Wales.
Provisional figures for November suggest further significant reductions in long waits are expected.
The Health Secretary also confirmed that an investigation into the management of waiting times data at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has now concluded. Revised figures show that a small number of patient pathways were added to the data between April and August.
Mr Miles stressed that this was a data management issue rather than a problem with patient treatment, adding that procedures and processes have since been tightened.
“While there is more to do to reduce long waits, I want to thank NHS staff for their continued efforts,” he said.
The Welsh Government says reducing the longest waits remains a key priority as health boards continue to work through backlogs built up in recent years.
