NHS waiting lists fall in Wales

Welsh hospital waiting lists have shown a fall in the number of patients waiting more than 22 weeks for appointments and then treatment.

The total waiting for a first outpatient appointment dropped from 5,565 in February to zero in March.

Those waiting for admission to hospital for treatment are down from 2,838 to five in the same period.

Welsh Assembly Government targets say that by March 2008 nobody should wait more than 22 weeks for treatment.

Although the figures in both areas have been falling steadily over the past 12 months, the outpatient appointment figures compare favourably with those for the same month last year when there were 21,407 waiting over 22 weeks to see a consultant.

Similarly, those waiting more than 22 weeks for admission to hospital for treatment in March 2007 numbered 10,001.

"With possible restructuring on the horizon, the NHS will need to redouble its efforts to maintain this momentum through times of change and uncertainty"
Mike Ponton, Welsh NHS Confederation

Health Minister Edwina Hart said the five patients waiting for an operation at the end of March had received their treatment in early April.

"Now, of course, the NHS will be working towards our next milestone by the end of next March, where no patients wait more than 10 weeks for a first appointment to see a consultant followed by a maximum of 14 weeks to receive treatment," she said.

This will be further reduced by the end of 2009 when no patients will wait more than 26 weeks, from primary care referral to treatment.

Mike Ponton, director of the Welsh NHS Confederation, said the figures showed that meeting the targets was a huge achievement that had come about through the hard work and dedication of all NHS staff.

But he warned there was a lot of hard work ahead to reach even tougher targets next year.

WELSH NHS WAITING LISTS

• Waiting over 22 weeks for first outpatient appointment:
• End of Feb: 5,565
• End of March: 0
• March 2007: 21,407
• Waiting for admission to hospital for treatment:
• End of Feb: 2,838
• End of March: 5
• March 2007: 10,001

Health economist Marcus Longley said the figures showed that when the minister demanded that trusts hit a particular target, it can be delivered.

But he said, even with this improvement, the performance of the Welsh health service was still lagging about two years behind its counterpart in England, and there were serious questions whether the rate of improvement can be sustained.

Conservative health spokesman Jonathan Morgan said the Welsh Assembly Government's "ideological obsession" with getting rid of the private sector in the NHS would affect its ability to meet the targets.

"The private sector has been instrumental in helping bring down waiting times. If ministers rule out this option the NHS's ability to keep to waiting time targets will be severely restricted at a time of additional pressures," he said.

Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Jenny Randerson congratulated NHS staff, but said it "remains true that patients in Wales wait longer for treatment than those in England".

"And while the assembly government pursues its policy of paying English trusts less for treating Welsh patients than they receive for treating English patients, many living near the border will see the time they wait go up."