In a significant development, the Welsh government has reported the largest monthly drop in NHS waiting lists on record. The number of patients awaiting treatment has fallen to just under 757,900, a decrease of 23,400. This includes a decline in the number of individuals waiting more than two years for treatment, with the majority of these 6,900 patients residing in North Wales.
The Welsh government’s £120 million investment in these two key areas since June appears to have had a positive impact. However, the performance in A&E remains a concern, with the number of patients spending less than four hours in A&E continuing to fall short of the target.
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine has long advocated for increased attention in this area, warning of potential harm to patients as a consequence. Similarly, the performance against cancer treatment targets has also deteriorated, with only 58.4% of patients starting treatment within 62 days of a cancer diagnosis.
Surgeons have cautioned that access to theatre space and staff burnout could impede further improvements in waiting times. Professor Jon Barry, the director for Wales at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, emphasised that “patients across Wales are living with pain, uncertainty and delays that affect their daily lives. They deserve timely, safe care they can rely on.”
The emergency department figures for December show that just under 87,700 patients attended A&E, with performance against the four-hour and 12-hour targets worsening. Over time, the trend indicates an increase in attendance at hospital emergency departments, with only 64.3% of patients spending less than four hours before being admitted, transferred, or discharged – the lowest in three years. The target is 95%, a goal that has never been met.
Ambulance response times were also slightly longer in December for both the purple (cardiac arrests) and red (life-threatening emergencies) categories, with average times standing at seven minutes and 35 seconds for purple, and nine minutes and 20 seconds for red. However, the proportion of patients arriving at the hospital who were breathing after a cardiac or respiratory arrest improved during December, following changes introduced last summer to prioritise those in the most urgent need.
Jeremy Miles, the cabinet secretary for health, acknowledged the Welsh government’s substantial funding to help people be seen faster, with 127,000 extra appointments already delivered, including on weekends. He also noted important reductions in ambulance handover delays in December compared to the same month in 2024, resulting in patients spending less time in an ambulance before being transferred to a hospital’s emergency department.
Mabon ap Gwynfor, the health spokesman for Plaid Cymru, expressed concern, stating that “every number on a waiting list is a person in pain, and the latest figures show waiting times remain high – patients across Wales are paying the price, and frontline staff are at the brink.”
Peter Fox, the Welsh Conservative health spokesman, echoed these sentiments, highlighting the worsening ambulance response times, cancer treatment target performance, and emergency department waits, with the latter being further from the target than it has been for three years.
A Reform UK Wales spokesperson went further, stating that “our Welsh NHS cannot afford another four years of Labour. They have mismanaged our health service for a generation, delivering misery for patients and staff alike.”
As the Welsh government continues to address these challenges, the well-being of patients and the resilience of the healthcare system remain at the forefront of the public’s concerns.
