Record-breaking NHS waiting lists and the deteriorating performance of the ambulance service and A&E departments are the consequence of a "broken" health service in Wales, experts have warned. Latest data from the Welsh Government shows the number of people on waiting lists for non-urgent hospital treatment hit record levels for the 22nd month in a row.
In February there were 691,885 patients on the waiting list – a rise from the 688,836 recorded in January and way up on the 456,809 seen just before the pandemic hit in March 2020. More than a quarter of a million people (251,647) currently on an NHS Wales waiting list have been on it for nine months or more, up on the 250,892 recorded the month before.
In comparison there were only 28,294 waiting this long in March 2020. The largest number of patients currently waiting are for trauma and orthopaedic treatment (98,462), general surgery (85,263), ear, nose and throat (58,309), and urology (41,768).
