Cuts in waiting times for planned care have been described as "remarkable" by the boss of Swansea Bay University Health Board, but he said the overall quality of service for patients was often variable and occasionally poor. Mark Hackett said the health board had achieved some of the biggest waiting time reductions in Wales, but he wished it could be faster.
The Welsh Government has pumped extra money into the NHS to deal with appointment and operation backlogs, and between April and December last year there was a 38% cut in the number of patients waiting more than two years for treatment in Swansea and Neath Port Talbot - down from 13,083 to 8,066. And cuts of 14%, 18% and 21% were achieved for three shorter-term waiting time metrics.
Speaking at a board meeting on January 26, chief executive Mr Hackett said: "In planned care we have made remarkable reductions, as the report shows, across a whole range of indicators." Next year he said he hoped the number of people waiting for two years or more would plummet to zero. You can read more stories about Swansea here.
