Wales to use private care to cut NHS waiting lists

Wales saw record waiting times published in October with the list passing the 800,000 mark for the first time.

The total number of patient pathways – the number of places a patient is waiting on a list – rose by more than 3,500 in August to 800,163.

Those waiting the longest continued to rise – more than 169,609 for more than a year and 24,193 for more than two years.

A sum of £28m had already been pledged in October to tackle the longest waits, and a further £22m was announced at Welsh Labour conference at the weekend.

Jeremy Miles told the Senedd chamber on Tuesday the cash would be made available to health boards to spend on their plans immediately, “to see more people and, where necessary, to use private hospital capacity to end long waits”.

He promised it would allow for an extra 14,000 tests by the end of March 2025, and up to 20,000 more outpatient appointments by the end of March 2025.

A total of £3m would also be spent to tackle the longest waits for neurodevelopmental assessments.