The Welsh Government had ambitious plans to end all two-year waits for treatment on the NHS in Wales. It was hoped this would be achieved by March 2023 but, several months later, two-year waits remain a reality for many patients.
Around 25,700 pathways were waiting more than two years in October this year. The number of patient pathways doesn't represent individual people as one person could be on more than one pathway.
The Welsh Government says this number continues to fall each month. There are some specialist services that are excluded from this target as they are recognised as "exceptionally challenging" with large numbers of people waiting even before the coronavirus pandemic caused a huge backlog. For the latest health and Covid news, sign up to our newsletter here
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The number of people waiting does differ depending on where they live. According to the data in October 2023 Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board (UHB) had the most pathways waiting longer than one year and Betsi Cadwaladr had the most pathways waiting longer than two years.
Each month StatsWales publishes data on the waiting times in Wales which give a better insight into how long people are waiting. They publish how long people are waiting per treatment in three different categories: up to 26 weeks, 26 to 36 weeks, and more than 36 weeks. Have you experienced a long wait of waiting for treatment in Wales and want to share your story? Email our health editor at [email protected]
We looked at each treatment area and what percentage of patients were waiting for longer than 36 weeks. The data we looked at is patient pathways closed by month – meaning the patient is no longer waiting and their wait for treatment ended after 36 weeks. With little surprise the six specialist areas in this chart with the highest percentage of patients waiting for longer than 36 weeks are the specialist areas that the Welsh Government has recognised as "challenging."
