Thousands of Wrexham A&E patients wait more than a day for treatment

New figures show how thousands of patients at Wrexham Maelor Hospital’s A&E department have been forced to wait more than a day for treatment.

Statistics released by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board also highlight the longest delays faced by patients at the emergency department, with one person waiting just under a week to be treated.

The data covering the years 2021, 2022, 2023 and from the start of 2024 up to the end of May were provided following an FOI request by our sister site Wrexham.com.

It shows 14,486 patients at the Maelor had to wait more than a day for treatment at A&E during the period covered.

A total of 992 patients waited more than 24 hours to be treated in 2021, rising to 4,886 in 2022 and 5,920 in 2023.

The figure for 2024 up until the end of May is 2,688 and therefore on course to possibly surpass last year.

The longest wait to be treated after presenting at the emergency department in Wrexham was 72 hours (three days) in 2021, 159 hours (6.6 days) in 2022 and 142 hours (just under six days) in 2023.

The largest wait in 2024 so far is 125 hours (just over five days). We have also received data for the region’s two other A&E departments at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd in Bodelwyddan and Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor for comparison.

While Wrexham has generally experienced the most patients waiting for more than a day to be treated, the longest waits in the last two years were at Glan Clwyd.

One figure that stands out is a wait of 20,888 minutes – or 348 hours – or around fourteen and a half days – at the Bodelwyddan hospital in 2023.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board is currently under special measures for the second time in its recent history.

Its status was escalated in February 2023 due to concerns over board effectiveness, governance, patient safety, operational delivery, leadership, and financial management.

An update on progress made by the board was presented to Senedd members last month.

It showed that although improvements have been witnessed in some areas, urgent and emergency care performance remains a “significant challenge”.

Then-Health Minister Mark Drakeford said: “The Welsh Government will continue to work with the health board through our oversight and assurance arrangements to ensure the required improvements related to outcomes, performance, clinical fragile services and quality and safety are accelerated, and that the necessary systems and structures are in place to ensure these improvements are sustainable.

“There is still a lot of work to do, but there are encouraging signs of improvement for people living in North Wales. We will continue to update members as the work progresses.”