The latest NHS statistics for Wales show that A&E performance has fallen to its lowest level on record, while waiting lists and ambulance response times have continued to worsen.
In May, just 63% of patients spent less than four hours in Welsh emergency departments, which is the lowest figure on record and significantly below the Welsh Government’s 95% target. The previous comparable low was recorded in December 2022, when 63.5% of patients were seen within four hours. In major emergency departments, less than half of patients, just 49%, were seen within four hours. Ysbyty Glan Clwyd was the worst performing hospital, with only 34% of patients seen within four hours.
In June, 11,826 patients waited 12 hours or more in Welsh emergency departments, which is the second highest figure ever recorded and an increase from 11,066 in May. The target is 0 patients.
Performance against the 62-day target for patients starting cancer treatment stood at just 57.1% in May, remaining well below the Welsh Government’s target of 75%.
NHS treatment waiting lists have increased to 689,072 patient pathways in May, up from 680,003 in April. The estimated number of individual patients waiting for treatment also increased from 536,500 to 542,600. The total number of pathways waiting for treatment has increased by more than 20,000, or around 3.5%, since March, when 666,964 pathways were waiting. The number of pathways waiting for more than a year increased by over 1,100 in the last month.
The number of patient pathways waiting for more than two years rose to 4,208, compared with only 177 in England. The median time patients had been waiting for treatment also increased to 15.7 weeks, compared with 12.4 in England. The number of pathways waiting for more than two years also increased by around 600, or 14%, in the last month, while the median waiting time increased by 0.9 weeks. More than a third of all pathways waiting for treatment are within Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. The Health Board also accounts for more than half of all pathways waiting for over two years.
Ambulance response times for serious red calls also deteriorated. The median response time increased to nine minutes and 32 seconds, while the 90th percentile increase to 23 minutes and 15 seconds, meaning targets were missed yet again. Response times for orange calls, which include suspected strokes, also worsened. The median response time across Wales increased from 1 hour, 22 minutes and 9 seconds in May to 1 hour, 29 minutes and 10 seconds, while the 90th percentile increased from 5 hours and 52 minutes to 6 hours, 14 minutes and 31 seconds. Swansea Bay was the worst performing health board for orange calls.
Successive Labour Governments repeatedly promised to eliminate two year waits but failed to do so. The new Plaid Cymru Government supported the previous Labour Government and its budgets, so they must now take responsibility for tackling these unacceptable waits and for improving outcomes for patients across Wales.
Commenting on the latest statistics, Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Minister for Health and Social Care, Natasha Asghar MS said:
“These figures show that the crisis in the Welsh NHS is continuing to deepen.
“A&E performance has fallen to its lowest level on record, while the number of people enduring waits of 12 hours or more has reached the second highest figure ever recorded.
“Additionally, cancer performance remains well below target, waiting lists have significantly increased and ambulance response times for the most serious red calls have once again deteriorated.
“Plaid Cymru cannot escape responsibility for this. They propped up the previous Welsh Labour Government by supporting its budgets and are now running the health service. Patients need urgent action, not more empty promises.
“The Welsh Conservatives have been clear all along that the Welsh Government must declare a health emergency. Wales clearly needs more hospital beds, a robust NHS workforce strategy, a serious plan to cut waiting lists and immediate action to relieve pressure on emergency departments.”
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