Wales NHS waiting list rises for fifth month as two-year waits increase

Wales’ NHS waiting list rose for a fifth consecutive month in August, with just over 714,200 treatment pathways open, around 4,500 more than in July. Official figures published on Thursday 22 October show just under 5,100 pathways had been waiting more than two years. That was an increase of 337, or 7.1%, from July, although it remained 92.8% below the March 2022 peak. Pathways are courses of treatment, rather than a count of people. Someone can have more than one open pathway. Separate management information estimates about 558,100 individual patients were on treatment waiting lists.

September improvement is provisional

The next month’s early figures point in different directions: around 721,400 pathways were waiting at the end of September, but about 4,900 had waited more than two years. Those September estimates are provisional and may change before the official figures are released in November. The fall in the longest waits should therefore be distinguished from the confirmed August increase, and does not mean the overall list has fallen.

Pressure across planned and emergency care

In August, 64.2% of pathways had waited less than 26 weeks. Just under 179,500 had waited longer than 36 weeks. The average wait for treatment was 17.2 weeks, 0.9 weeks longer than in July. Diagnostics pathways fell to just over 111,600, their lowest level since September 2024. However, the number waiting longer than the eight-week diagnostic target increased to just over 38,200. A smaller list does not necessarily mean fewer people waiting beyond the target. Emergency departments recorded just over 98,700 attendances in September. Four-hour performance improved slightly from August, while performance against the twelve-hour target worsened.

Minister calls for sustained falls

Health and Care Cabinet Minister Mabon ap Gwynfor said the figures were not good enough and that health boards were responsible for delivering planned-care changes backed by an extra £145 million. He welcomed the provisional reduction in two-year waits but said it needed to be sustained. The Welsh Government also says it removed clinical-exceptions guidance from 1 October. Emergency-department reporting will count the full time spent there, including observation, recovery and waiting for transport. That change starts after the September period in this release and needs to be considered when assessing subsequent figures.