The latest NHS statistics for Wales revealed NHS treatment waiting lists remain at 794,543 pathways, the equivalent of nearly 1-in-4 Welsh people.
Performance worsened against the 62-day target for patients starting cancer treatment, decreasing to 60.2% and the new 90th percentile response time for red calls was beyond the 20-minute target.
The disparity in two-year NHS waits for treatment between Wales and England is still large, with NHS Wales two-year waits standing at 7,447, compared with 182 in England.
The Labour Health Minister, now First Minister, Eluned Morgan promised to eliminate these waits for the last two years (by March 2023 and again by March 2024), but failed to meet these targets and still has not.
Commenting on the latest statistics, James Evans MS, Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care said:
“Today’s statistics are far from good enough, the Welsh Labour Government’s progress has been unacceptably slow.
“You are still nearly four hundred times more likely to be left waiting over two years if you need NHS treatment in Wales, compared with England, with targets for cancer care and ambulance response times not being met.
“The Welsh Conservatives would deliver one-year maximum waits for treatment and a seven-day GP wait guarantee, by declaring a health emergency, to ensure that resources and the efforts of the whole Government are targeted at reducing these excessive waits.”
