Surgeons call on new health minister to invest in surgical capacity as waiting list in Wales reaches record high

The waiting list for referral to consultant-led hospital treatment in Wales has risen to another record high, reaching over 791,000 in June 2024. Surgeons are calling on Mark Drakeford, the new Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care in Wales, to invest in surgical capacity immediately so that patients aren’t left waiting and worried for months, and even years, on end. 

New data published today shows that the waiting list increased by over 3,500 from May to June 2024. It is now over 37,000 higher than the same time last year. 

There needs to be faster progress on the establishment of surgical hubs in Wales, which separate planned and emergency care, so operations can go ahead when hospitals are under pressure.   

The ‘patient pathway’ data released by Stats Wales covers the period of time from referral by a GP or other medical practitioner to hospital for treatment in the NHS in Wales. The data includes time spent waiting for any hospital appointments, tests, surgery, scans, or other procedures.   

The data shows there were over 160,000 waiting more than one year in June. This number was 3.5% higher than last month. Just over 23,400 were waiting for more than two years, which is a rise of 4.3% on the previous month. The longest waits are for trauma and orthopedic treatment, 100,943; general surgery, 83,407; ear, nose and throat (ENT), 62,044; and urology, 43,047.   

Responding to the figures, Professor Jon Barry, Director in Wales at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said:   

“Another record high for NHS waiting lists in Wales is awful news for patients, some of whom have been waiting months, and even years, for their treatment. Surgeons are increasingly concerned about the disruption long waits are causing to patients' lives, and the risk that they may deteriorate while waiting.  

"As Mark Drakeford takes on the health brief again, he has a chance to make a lasting change to NHS waits in Wales. He must make boosting surgical capacity in Wales his absolute priority. This includes investing in staff and speeding up the roll-out of surgical hubs, which separate out planned and emergency care, so essential operations can go ahead.” 

Notes to editors

1. There were 791,511 patient pathways waiting to start treatment at the end of June 2024. There were 787,949 patient pathways waiting to start treatment at the end of May 2024. There were 754,041 patient pathways waiting to start treatment at the end of June 2023. 

2. Full, historical Stats Wales Referral to Treatment Waiting Times can be found here: https://statswales.gov.wales/Catalogue/Health-and-Social-Care/NHS-Hospital-Waiting-Times/Referral-to-Treatment/patientpathwayswaitingtostarttreatment-by-month-groupedweeks   

3. Data for patients waiting over one and two years to start treatment is drawn from the Welsh Government’s NHS activity and performance summary: June and July 2024: https://www.gov.wales/nhs-activity-and-performance-summary-june-and-july-2024-html  

4. In March 2016, Stats Wales changed some of the terminology used in referral to treatment reporting. Previously, when publishing these statistics, they used the terminology patients. However, now, it is possible that a person could be on several different lists waiting for different conditions – i.e., there would be one patient but more than one pathway. Due to the RTT dataset being an aggregate data collection, Stats Wales says they are not able to measure the number of unique patients. Therefore, they are using the terminology ‘patient pathways,’ to reflect the fact that one person can be on multiple waiting lists.  

5. The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) provides world-class education, assessment, and development to 30,000 surgeons, dental professionals, and members of the wider surgical and dental care teams, at all stages of their career. Our vision is to see excellent surgical care for everyone. We do this by setting professional standards, facilitating research, and championing the best outcomes for patients.   

6. For more information, please contact the RCS England press office: telephone: 020 7869 6053/6054/6047; email: pressoffice@rcseng.ac.uk; out-of-hours media enquiries: 0207 869 6056.