Ambulance delays down, but waiting times rise across Welsh NHS

Local TV

Despite some positive signs earlier on this year, NHS waiting times in Wales have risen for the second consecutive month. Almost 800,000 people across the country are now on a waiting list, despite a focus on bringing numbers down by the Welsh Government. Ambulance delays are the only signs of life for a poor situation across the board.

Transcript

00:00NHS waiting times have been a key target for Alina Edmorgan and her Welsh Government,

00:06and despite some positive signs for the last few months, the number has risen across the

00:10board for the second month in a row.

00:13One of the most high profile targets Alina Edmorgan set was to bring the number of people

00:16waiting the longest, i.e. more than two years, for treatment down to 8000 by March, but that

00:22number was narrowly missed and now the target has moved further away according to the most

00:26recent figures.

00:28Studies show that more than 10,000 people are now waiting two years or longer for treatment,

00:32an increase of 6.5% on the previous month, which shows a similar increase as the number

00:37of people waiting a year longer or anyone waiting for treatment on the Welsh NHS.

00:42The whole number of people on a waiting list in Wales is now at 796,000, an increase of

00:48roughly 6,000 between April and May.

00:50The number of people waiting more than a year also rose to over 75,000.

00:55The only real signs of positivity from the recent figures were a reduction in ambulance handover

00:59times, which many have pointed to as a major contributor to waiting times in general.

01:04It's been a focus for the Welsh Government who set up a national task force to help tackle

01:08the issue.

01:09Health Minister Jeremy Miles said the recent figures on ambulance handovers are the lowest

01:13in almost four years and shows the Welsh Government's commitment to tackling ambulance delays, but

01:18also conceded that the waiting times across the board were disappointing.

01:22Welsh Lib Dem leader Jane Dodds said it was a damning indictment of 25 years of labour mismanagement

01:27in Wales.

01:29Figures like these are not a good look for a First Minister desperate to improve NHS waiting

01:33times, both for the people of Wales, and because it's easy ammunition for their rivals who can

01:38send an election next year.

01:40James Peach Watkins, reporting for Local TV.

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02:07I'm about to make it a statement.

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