Wales NHS waiting list rises for fourth month as two-year waits jump 16%

The NHS Wales treatment waiting list grew for a fourth consecutive month in July, while the number of pathways waiting more than two years rose by 15.9%.

Just under 709,700 referral-to-treatment pathways were waiting to start treatment, around 11,300 more than in June. A pathway is not the same as a person because one patient can have more than one open pathway. Separate management information suggests about 555,200 individual patients were waiting.

Two-year waits rise again

Just over 4,700 pathways had been waiting more than two years, 649 more than in June. That count remains 93.3% below its March 2022 peak, but July was a second successive monthly rise.

The share waiting less than 26 weeks slipped to 65.7%, against a 95% target. Just over 172,400 pathways had waited more than 36 weeks, around 3,200 more than in June. The median wait increased by 0.4 weeks to 16.3 weeks.

Provisional August estimates point to another increase, to about 714,200 total pathways. The provisional figures include 96,200 over one year and 5,100 over two years, but can change before the official August release in October.

Therapy waits reach a record

Therapy pathways reached just under 65,800 in July, the highest figure on record and 2.7% higher than in June. More than 6,800 had waited beyond the 14-week target, an 8.4% monthly increase. Diagnostic pathways moved in the other direction, falling 1.4% to just under 118,700.

A mixed picture in emergency care

In August, 10,977 patients spent at least 12 hours in emergency departments, 733 fewer than in July. Four-hour performance worsened: 63.8% left, were admitted or transferred within four hours, compared with a 95% target.

Ambulance response targets were met for purple calls covering cardiac and respiratory arrests, with a median of 7 minutes 24 seconds and a 90th percentile of 18 minutes 48 seconds. The equivalent targets were missed for red calls, where the median was 9 minutes 2 seconds and the 90th percentile was 22 minutes 9 seconds.

Cancer target still missed

Cancer performance improved in July, with 60.1% beginning first definitive treatment within 62 days of suspicion. That remained below the 75% target. The month recorded 18,429 new suspected-cancer pathways, the second-highest total since records began.

The figures are accredited official statistics compiled from data supplied by Digital Health and Care Wales and the Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust. The release does not establish why the waiting list changed.