00:00NHS waiting times have been a seemingly never-ending issue for the Welsh Government,
00:06but the most recent figures show plenty of positives and a number of shortfalls,
00:11with key targets missed by the NHS in Wales.
00:14Back in December, the First Minister set an ambitious goal to bring the number of patients
00:18waiting more than two years for planned treatment down from 24,000 to around 8,000 by spring.
00:23That deadline has now passed, and while the final figure stands at just over 8,300,
00:28it falls slightly short of that target.
00:31Still is a significant drop-down from over 15,000 in February,
00:34and marks the lowest level since April 2021.
00:37Health Secretary Jeremy Miles acknowledged the target had been narrowly missed,
00:41but praised the hard work of NHS staff, pointing out that several health boards,
00:45including Swansea Bay, Huwil Vah and Poes,
00:47now have no patients waiting for more than two years.
00:50But while long waits are coming down, other key areas still face pressure.
00:55Ambulance response times remain below target.
00:58Just over half of the most urgent emergency calls responded to,
01:01with an eight-minute goal in April, well under the 65% target.
01:05And performance on cancer treatment times and A&E waiting times also continues to fall short.
01:10Opposition parties have been quick to criticise.
01:14Plaid Cymru said the Government had essentially moved the goalposts and still missed,
01:18while other questions whether the broader system in general is doing enough to meet the scale of demand.
01:23With just a year to go until the next set of elections,
01:26the Welsh Government says it remains committed to eliminating the longest waits
01:30and reducing overall waiting lists by 200,000 by the end of the year.
01:34For now though, the pressure to deliver is far from over,
01:37but there are signs of life for a health system in very much need of it.
01:40In Peach Watkins, reported for local TV.
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