NHS Wales waiting list tops 613,000 as over 8,000 face two-year delays
The Welsh Government has been accused of overseeing an “abysmal failure” in the NHS as new figures show more than 613,000 patients are waiting to begin treatment.
Data released today reveal that over 8,000 people have been waiting longer than two years, a 7.5% rise on the previous month.
However, this is the second-lowest figure since April 2021.
In July, there were just under 793,100 referral-to-treatment (RTT) patient pathways waiting to start treatment — down by around 1,500 compared to June. The number of open pathways is different to the number of people on an individual waiting list, as some patients will be waiting to start more than one treatment.
This is a decrease of around 1,500 since June.
The proportion of pathways waiting less than 26 weeks rose to 56.6% in July, while those waiting longer than 36 weeks fell to just under 265,700.
For the first time, the Welsh Government has released provisional figures for August – a month before they are due to be finalised.
According to today’s interim data, there were around 790,600 total pathways waiting at the end of August, of which 156,200 were waiting more than one year and 8,700 were waiting more than two years.
These figures are expected to change in October when the information is finalised.
Ambulance response times
The Welsh Government has also changed the way it records ambulance performance following the introduction of a new purple category for patients experiencing cardiac or respiratory arrest.
Category red remains for major trauma and other incidents where patients are at significant risk of arrest without a rapid response.
According to today’s figures, there were 802 purple calls to the ambulance service in July — around 2.3% of all calls — and 4,380 red calls (12.5%).
The median response time was 7 minutes 15 seconds for purple calls and 9 minutes 15 seconds for red calls.
For patients in cardiac arrest where resuscitation was attempted, 27.4% achieved a return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) by the time they arrived at hospital.
Emergency department waits
There were 96,800 attendances to Wales’ emergency departments in August — an average of 3,121 attendances per day. Of these patients, just under 15,200 were admitted to hospital.
In North Wales 57.6% of attendees waited less than the four hour target to be seen, however this drops to just 40.6% in the region’s major emergency departments.
This is well below the Welsh Government’s own target of 95% of patients spending less than four hours in an emergency department from arrival until admission, transfer or discharge.
At the Wrexham Maelor Hospital 36.2% of attendees spent less than the four hour target in the department. This dropped to 34.2% at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd and 52.5% at Ysbyty Gwynedd.
Against the eight hour target this figure rose to 63.1% at the Wrexham Maelor Hospital, 56.3 at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd and 67.9% at Ysbyty Gwynedd.
Cancer waiting times
The Welsh Government has a target for 75% of patients to start treatment within 62 days of first being suspected of cancer.
In July, 2,301 pathways started cancer treatment, 337 more than in June and the highest figure on record.
However Macmillan Cancer Support say that the target was still missed by a substantial margin, with almost 900 people waiting too long to start treatment.
Waiting times also vary depending on which type of cancer people have. In July 2025 only 32% of women and people assigned female at birth with gynecological cancer and 39% of people with urological cancer started their treatment within 62 days from first being suspected of having cancer, compared with 86.1% of those with skin cancer
Rhian Stangroom-Teel, External Affairs Manager for Wales at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “Everyone with cancer should be able to get the timely diagnosis and treatment they need, no matter who they are or where they live.
“The fact that over 5,500 people have been left to face long waits and delays to their cancer treatment since the start of this year alone, makes it clear that this is not happening right now in Wales. This is unacceptable, but it is fixable.
“These latest figures do show a very welcome improvement from last month and when compared to this time last year.
“But with Senedd elections on the horizon, now is the time for the Welsh Government to make cancer a priority, to deliver on the ambitions of its Cancer Improvement Plan, to make cancer care fair by addressing the inconsistencies that exist across the country, and to lead the way on making sure everyone with cancer in Wales can get the timely diagnosis and treatment they need.”
Welsh Government response
An extra 15,000 outpatient appointments are being provided across Wales this month as part of plans to cut long waiting times.
The additional appointments – over and above normal core NHS activity – are part of the £120m year-long plan announced in June to tackle long waits and reduce the overall waiting list.
As part of the plan, more than 20,000 extra cataract operations will be delivered by March 2026. Cardiff and Vale University Health Board has already reduced the number of ophthalmology pathways waiting more than 52 weeks by 34% compared with the same month last year.
The latest NHS figures show just over 8,000 people were waiting more than two years for treatment in July – the second lowest figure since April 2021 and more than 88% down on the peak in March 2022.
No one is waiting more than two years for treatment or more than a year for a first outpatient appointment in Swansea Bay and Powys health boards. In Hywel Dda, Aneurin Bevan, Cwm Taf Morgannwg, and Cardiff and Vale, less than 1% of people are waiting longer than two years.
Health Secretary Jeremy Miles said: “The extra £120m I announced in June aims to deliver what people want – faster treatment.
“This month, 15,000 extra outpatient appointments are being provided across Wales which shows how we are increasing activity all over the country to ensure people are being seen quicker.
“We are expecting to see fluctuations in the month-on-month statistics. I remain confident we will see a significant reduction in long waits by the end of the second quarter.”
However the Welsh Conservatives have today accused the Welsh Government of overseeing an “abysmal failure” in the NHS.
James Evans MS, Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care said: “These figures represent yet another abysmal failure by the Welsh Labour Government, the longest waits are rising and progress is being lost yet again.
“Labour is throwing more and more money at this problem, but isn’t seeing results. We need to see red tape, the ballooning bureaucracy and wasteful spending cut. We don’t need more middle managers – focus on the frontline.
“The Welsh Conservatives would guarantee one-year maximum waits for treatment and introduce a seven-day maximum GP wait guarantee.”
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