Wales’s health services remain under strain as waiting lists continue to rise
Health services across Wales continue to come under strain with just half of all immediately life-threatening 999 calls receiving an emergency response within eight minutes last month.
Figures released today by the Welsh Government show that the Welsh Ambulance Service received the second highest number and proportion of immediately life-threatening calls per day on record in October.
Throughout the month 5,497 category red (immediately life-threatening, someone is in imminent danger of death, such as a cardiac arrest) calls were made to the service.
Just 50.4 per cent of these calls received an emergency response within eight minutes.
Picture: Welsh Government
Whilst this is 1.4 percentage points higher than September it is still well below the Welsh Government’s target of 65 per cent of red calls receiving a response within the eight minute timeframe.
Handover delays at hospitals are seen as one of the main contributing factors against the delay in ambulance response times.
Last month around 22,000 hours were lost due to this reason.
Emergency departments
In October across Wales there were just under 94,900 attendances to all emergency departments – an average of 3,060 attendances per day.
Across North Wales there were 21,003 attendances at the region’s hospital last month.
Of this 5,517 attended the Wrexham Maelor Hospital – with 45.3 per cent of patients seen within four hours.
This is below the Welsh Government’s target of 95 per cent of new patients spending less than four hours in emergency departments from arrival until admission, transfer or discharge.
Picture: Welsh Government
The Welsh Government also has a target of no patient waiting more than 12 hours in emergency departments from arrival until admission, transfer or discharge.
In October 85.7 per cent of patients were seen in the Wrexham Maelor Hospital within 12 hours while 77.2 per cent were seen within eight hours.
Across Wales 68 per cent of patients in all NHS emergency departments spent less than four hours in the department from arrival until admission, transfer or discharge.
This was lower than the previous month and remains relatively low in historical context.
NHS waiting times
In September, the number of pathways waiting longer than one year for their first outpatient appointment increased by 0.4 per cent compared to the previous month to 79,855.
The Welsh Government’s own planned care recovery plan target was not met although there has been a fall of 22.2 per cent since the peak in August 2022.
Under the Welsh Government’s own ‘Planned Care Recovery Plan’ two year waits in most specialities were expected to be eliminated by March 2023. But this target has never been met.
The number of patient pathways waiting less than 26 weeks increased to 54.2 per cent in September.
Just over 23,700 pathways were waiting more than two years – this is a slight decrease from August’s figure of just under 24,200.
In September the Welsh NHS recorded 801,300 open patient pathways. This is an increase from 800,200 from the previous month.
With many patients waiting to start more than one sort of treatment the actual number of people on an NHS waiting fell slightly to 618,200 in September.
Cancer waiting times
During September 1,823 people started their first definitive treatment, which is 121 more than the previous month.
At least 75 per cent patients should start treatment within 62 days of first being suspected of cancer.
The Welsh Government’s own planned recovery plan established a new target of 80 per cent which should be reached by 2026.
However performance worsened against the Welsh Government’s 62 day target which dropped from to 55.0 per cent from to 56.5 per cent in the previous month.
According to leading charity Macmillan 2024 is on track to be the worst year on record for cancer waiting times performance in Wales.
The charity’s own data shows that between January and September 2024, more than 7,200 people with cancer in Wales waited more than two months to start treatment following an urgent referral.
Picture: Welsh Government
In September alone, more than 800 people with cancer in Wales waited more than 62 days to start treatment from first being suspected of having cancer — this was almost half (45 per cent) of all those who started treatment in that month.
In the same month just 37 per cent of people with a lower gastrointestinal cancer such as bowel cancer started their treatment within 62 days from first being suspected of having cancer, with similar figures for urological cancer (38 per cent) and gynaecological cancer (38 per cent).
Kate Seymour, Head of Advocacy (Geographies) at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care’s announcement this week of £50m funding to tackle the longest waits and help ease winter pressures on the healthcare system is welcome.
“But this is another missed opportunity to set out specific plans to reduce cancer waiting times, which are so urgently needed, and today’s figures show little sign of improvement for those waiting for treatment.
“We are still waiting for the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care to clearly lay out how he will tackle the completely unacceptable delays in Wales’ cancer services to ensure everyone affected by cancer, no matter who they are or where they live, has access to the support they need.”
Political response
The Welsh Conservatives have branded today’s figures as a “crisis point” the Welsh healthcare system.
Sam Rowlands MS, Welsh Conservative Shadow Health Minister said: “I fear that we are at crisis point as waiting list figures continue to head in the wrong direction in Labour-run Wales.
“The Labour Health Minister’s latest initiatives, even if his expectations are met, will barely scratch the surface in terms of tackling these excessive, record-breaking waits for treatment. Something needs to change, fast.
“The Welsh Conservatives will stand up for the Welsh people’s priorities by eliminating restrictive guidance blocking cross-border and cross-sector working and by enacting a substantial workforce plan to boost staffing numbers, with a tuition fee refund for healthcare workers at its heart.”
However Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care Jeremy Miles, said the Welsh Government has increased the amount of funding to support health boards reduce the longest waiting times to £50m.
This is an extra £22m, on top of the £28m announced last month.
According to Mr Miles this funding will enable health boards to increase capacity in the NHS in Wales and use the private sector, where available.
Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care Jeremy Miles
“As part of this £50m package of investment, £3m will go towards cutting the longest waiting times for children’s neurodevelopmental assessments as part of wider work to transform services,” explained Jeremy Miles MS.
“I’m pleased to see the number of patient pathways waiting more than a year and two years for treatment have fallen in the last month.
“This shows positive progress is being made across Wales to reduce the longest waiting times. I hope to see this continue.
“While there has been a small rise in the overall number of patient pathways waiting to start treatment, more than half are waiting less than 26 weeks and there was a fall in the number waiting more than 36 weeks in September.
“We recognise the impact long waits for treatment can have on someone’s life, both mentally and physically, so we have a laser-like focus on reducing the longest waits and improving access to patient care.
“More than 1,800 people started cancer treatment in September and nearly 14,000 people received the good news they didn’t have cancer.
“There were also reductions in the long waits for both diagnostics and therapies services and some reductions in the numbers of pathway of care delays.
“Urgent and emergency care services continue to be under great pressure – in October, the Welsh Ambulance Service received the second highest number and proportion of immediately life-threatening calls per day on record, but more than half of these calls received a response within eight minutes.
“The extra £50m to reduce long waits will mean more people will be seen and treated by the NHS between now and the end of March and I want to thank health boards and local authorities for embracing the 50-day challenge to speed up hospital discharge and ensure people can recover from their illness or injury in the comfort of their own home.”
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