NHS waiting lists fall again but North Wales still lags
NHS Wales waiting lists have fallen again, with the biggest monthly reduction on record, but emergency department delays remain high and North Wales continues to lag behind the national picture.
New figures show the overall waiting list dropped by 23,400 between October and November, the sixth consecutive monthly fall. It is the largest single-month reduction since records began.
Across Wales, the number of people waiting more than two years for treatment fell to just under 6,900, down by more than 90% from its peak. Provisional data for December suggest further reductions, with two-year waits expected to fall to around 5,300.
However, all health boards except Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board have now either eliminated two-year waits entirely or reduced them to below one per cent of pathways.
The figures show Betsi Cadwaladr is currently the only health board in Wales where more than one per cent of pathways are still waiting longer than two years.
November data show the health board reduced its total waiting list from 200,032 pathways in October to 192,866, a fall of 7,166 in one month. Over the same period, the number of people waiting more than 104 weeks dropped from 4,679 to 4,286. Despite the reduction, around 2.2% of pathways were still waiting more than two years.
Nationally, the number of people waiting more than a year for their first outpatient appointment is at its lowest level since October 2020. Those waiting longer than 36 weeks for treatment are also at their lowest point since April 2021.
In November, just over 136,600 treatment pathways were closed across Wales, the second highest figure on record.
The Welsh Government said the improvements follow a £120 million investment announced in June 2025 to help people be seen more quickly. The funding has already delivered 127,000 additional appointments and aims to provide an extra 20,000 cataract operations by March 2026.
Emergency care performance remains under pressure. In December, 64.3% of patients were seen within four hours in Welsh emergency departments, against a target of 95%. More than 10,000 patients waited 12 hours or longer, despite a target of zero.
Health Secretary Jeremy Miles said the latest figures showed progress was being made.
“I am pleased the waiting list has fallen and the longest waits are coming down, this is what people want to see,” he said.
“There were also important reductions in ambulance handover delays in December compared to the same month last year, meaning people are spending less time in an ambulance before being transferred to a hospital’s emergency department.”
Responding to the figures, Peter Fox (Conservative), Chair of the Senedd’s Health and Social Care Committee, said:
“It is clear that after 27 years of Plaid-backed Labour Governments, our NHS is broken. In some areas, the situation is even deteriorating.”
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board is responsible for NHS services across North Wales, covering Flintshire, Wrexham, Denbighshire, Gwynedd, Conwy and Anglesey. It serves a population of more than 700,000 people, making it the largest health board in Wales.
The health board was placed back into special measures at the highest escalation level in February 2023 and remains under special measures more than two years later.
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