Hospital waiting lists in Wales see record drop

"This set of record-breaking figures show just how hard the NHS is working. Health boards are delivering more outpatient appointments, especially in the evenings and at weekends, and more operations, including cataract surgery - new ways of working to make sure people are seen and treated faster. This is real, tangible progress for people in Wales."

"There were 713,048 patient pathways - the steps from referral to treatment - on waiting lists in January, nearly 28,000 fewer than the previous month. The figures suggest a 120 million investment by Welsh government to specifically target the problem is paying off."

"But by some measures waiting time are actually up - the number of patients waiting longer than the target times for both diagnostics and therapies has risen to the highest on record since 2024. Likewise, the performance against the 62-day target in cancer care has dropped to 57% - 3.7 percentage points lower than the previous month and moving away from the goal of 75%."

Welsh hospital waiting lists have declined for eight consecutive months, with January showing 713,048 patient pathways—nearly 28,000 fewer than December. A £120 million Welsh government investment appears to be contributing to this reduction. However, contradictory metrics reveal challenges: patients waiting longer than target times for diagnostics and therapies hit record levels, and cancer care performance dropped to 57% against a 75% target. Despite these concerns, health boards delivered 187,000 additional outpatient appointments and 37,000 cataract operations through new working arrangements including evening and weekend services. The increased referrals for suspected cancer and diagnostic clearances indicate higher service volume, though over 500,000 Welsh patients remain on NHS waiting lists with some waiting over two years.

Read at www.bbc.com