Longest hospital waiting lists still rising

Nearly half of the two-year waits are for eye treatment or orthopaedics.

General surgery, dermatology – mostly patients in north Wales – and ear, nose and throat operations are the specialisms with the next longest waits.

Before the Covid pandemic, Wales had less than a couple of hundred long waits, but the backlog peaked at 68,000 in the spring of 2022.

Although this figure came down, in England these two-year waits have been virtually eradicated.

With numbers stubbornly remaining over 20,000 over the last year in Wales, the new health secretary announced funding for weekend working and private hospitals to slash the backlog.

Health Secretary Jeremy Miles said the figures did not yet reflect the investment.

“Health boards have assured me patients are getting faster treatment as a result and I look forward to seeing the impact of this in the coming months,” he said.

The number waiting more than a year for treatment also rose, to 173,768, the highest level for more than two years.

When we look at only consultant-led specialisms, so we can compare with England, 24% are waiting more than a year in Wales, compared with 3% across the border.