First minister misses NHS waiting times promise

A key promise by Wales' first minister to cut NHS waiting times has been missed.

In December, Eluned Morgan pledged to cut the numbers waiting two years or more for planned treatments from 24,000 to about 8,000 by spring.

Despite falling to the lowest point since April 2021, March's figure stood at 8,389 with the majority - 5,747 - all in the health board for north Wales, Betsi Cadwaladr.

There was a drop from February's figure of 15,500 amid a £50m investment but the figure is still well above NHS England which had just 147 people waiting two years or more.

This funding came too late for some, like Sarah Thyer, who paid £8,000 for hip surgery in Lithuania after facing a two-year wait.

The Welsh government said its £50m investment led to more than 5,000 treatments, 2,000 diagnostic tests, 6,000 outpatient appointments and 2,100 neurodevelopmental assessments, eliminating three-year waiting lists.

Last month, Health Secretary Jeremy Miles said he was sure the NHS would come close to the 8,000 figure.

On Thursday, he praised Swansea Bay, Hywel Dda, and Powys health boards for having no patients waiting more than two years for treatment.

He said the focus was now cutting the waiting list by 200,000 this year and restoring an eight-week maximum wait for diagnostic tests by March 2026.

While calling the goal "ambitious", he thanked "NHS staff for their hard work getting us to this point".

With just under a year until the next Senedd election and with the NHS likely to be a key issue, the stakes were high.

Ms Thyer, 60, from Sketty, Swansea enjoyed an active life as a charity fundraiser until her left hip deteriorated quickly at the start of 2024.

"It was agony, so much so I had to use a stick. I couldn't do the activities I usually did like sea swimming and cycling," she said.

"I had to give up my job because I couldn't physically do what I needed to do."

Having osteoarthritis, Ms Thyer knew she would need to a hip replacement, having undergone surgery on her right hip in 2017.

Back then she had waited about eight months for the operation, but was told this time it would be at least triple that.

"You feel completely frustrated... because every day you're struggling.

"To be told you've got another two years after already being on [the list] for about 40 weeks is just depressing because it's not just the pain, it affects your whole life - it was heartbreaking."

Following her father's death earlier this year, Sarah took matters into her own hands and paid to have her hip replaced in a clinic in Lithuania.

She flew out on 2 March, had the operation two days later and "within eight hours" of surgery, was "walking up and down the corridor".

She can now ride her bike again and walk up stairs "without hanging on to the banister".

Despite occasionally feeling "angry" about paying for her own treatment, she does not blame NHS staff, but said there was "something wrong in the system".

While welcoming the Welsh government's commitment to bring down waiting lists, the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) argued progress was "too slow".

Director in Wales Jon Barry said: "I feel very sorry for those patients who are sitting at home in pain, not being able to get around."

The RCS wants more surgical hubs in Wales - standalone units that focus on these treatments and can be protected from pressures on A&E.

Prof Barry, also a consultant surgeon in Swansea Bay health board, the area where Ms Thyer lives, said the Welsh government needed to invest in long-term solutions.

He said health boards were able to make inroads, in part, by paying for more evening and weekend working, using the private sector and pooling facilities, staff and resources.

He added: "Instead of spending money at the end of the financial year to get on top of these two-year waits it would be far more beneficial to use that funding 365 days a year to build durable capacity without turning to the private sector."

Back at home, Sarah realises the progress has come too late for her and does not regret her decision, but recognised others could not afford to do the same.

She said: "I was lucky to be in that position. Obviously I would prefer to be paying £8,000 on a few holidays, a new bathroom, kitchen or car, but nothing is better than waking up in the morning and not having that excruciating pain.

"So I would pay it again tomorrow."

Plaid Cymru's health spokesman Mabon ap Gwynfor accused the Welsh government of "moving the goalposts and still missing" after the two-year waiting list target of 8,000 was pushed back from March 2023 to spring 2025.

The Conservatives said: "The Welsh Labour government is still missing its cancer targets and no-one at all should be waiting two years for treatment or over 12 hours in A&E, let alone over 110,000 patients."