There are 593,000 actual patients estimated to be on the waiting list
By Owain Clarke & Steve Duffy
BBC Wales News
Hospital waiting times have hit a new record in Wales, according to official figures.
There were 760,282 patient pathways – the route a patient takes in the management of their condition – waiting for treatment, the latest data has shown.
Ambulance responses to life-threatening calls worsened, although there was an improvement in cancer waiting times.
Wales’ health minister Eluned Morgan said the figures were “disappointing”.
Even with that cash injection, Finance Minister Rebecca Evans insisted health boards would still need to make “extremely difficult decisions this year and the next”.
First Minister Mark Drakeford also indicated the funding would just be enough “keep things going” during a “crisis”.
What do the latest figures show?
The 760,282 patient pathways waiting for treatment after referral is the highest on record.
Because some patients are on more than one waiting list, it is estimated there are 593,000 actual patients on the list.
When we look at consultant-led specialisms – so we can compare with England – there are 133,180 waiting more than a year.
This is an increase for the second successive month after seven months of falls. It involves 19.8% of patients on the list but this compares with 5.1% on the list waiting more than a year in England.
In accident and emergency, there was an improvement over the month. In major A&E units, 59.5% of people spent less than four hours in the department.
This is slightly better than the position in England.
There were 9,656 patients who spent 12 hours or more waiting in A&E, a slight improvement on the previous month – but the target is that no-one should wait that long.
In recent days, the A&E figures in Wales have been challenged by senior doctors, but the Welsh government said “once again” the numbers include so-called clinical exceptions.
Its chief statistician Stephanie Howarth said: “Following the concerns raised, local health boards have provided assurance this week that the data they submit to Digital Health and Care Wales is in line with the guidance on reporting clinical exceptions.”
There was a worsening performance for the ambulance service, with 48.7% of “red” calls getting an emergency response within eight minutes. This was 1.7% lower than in August and the lowest since March.
Handover delays outside A&E continue to fall, although there were still more than 13,000 hours spent by ambulances beyond the 15-minute target window, waiting to release patients.
Figures also show there are nearly 1,600 patients who are ready to be discharged but are taking up a hospital bed because of a delayed transfer of care.
This is the equivalent of all the beds at the University Hospital of Wales and Llandough Hospital in Cardiff and Vale.
Cancer waiting times showed an improvement, with 57.3% starting treatment within 62 days of cancer being suspected – but this is still below target.
The number waiting more than a year for a first outpatient appointment has risen by more than 1,700 since the previous month to more than 52,600.
This was supposed to have been eradicated by the end of 2022.
What has been the response?
Health Minister Ms Morgan said: “It is disappointing to see overall waiting lists rise again, but I have been clear with health boards that I expect to see improvement in this area, and we will continue to support them to achieve that.
“It is crucial that we develop solutions that will create an NHS that is fit for the future, despite the financial challenges that we are up against.”
The Conservatives said progress on the two-year treatment time waits had been “at a snail’s pace”.
“At this rate it will take another two-and-a-half years to eliminate them,” said health spokesman Russell George.
The NHS Confederation, which represents health boards, said “concerted efforts to tackle the longest waiters are paying off” although it warned of difficult decisions in the coming months.
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