Surgeons call for expanded surgical hubs in Wales to combat future winter pressures

The waiting list for referral to hospital treatment in Wales has risen again, reaching 802,132 in October 2024. 
 
The Royal College of Surgeons of England has emphasised the need to accelerate the development of surgical hubs. These hubs, which separate planned procedures from emergency care, allow operations to continue even when hospitals face high demand.  Progress in establishing hubs across Wales has been slow.
 
According to the latest Stats Wales data, the waiting list grew by 825 patients between September and October 2024, with the current list exceeding the figure for the same time last year by almost 38,000.
 
The data shows there were just under 172,800 patient pathways waiting more than one year in October. This number was 2.1% higher than last month. Just over 24,200 were waiting for more than two years, which is a rise of 2.1% on the previous month. 
 
Responding to the figures, Professor Jon Barry, Director in Wales at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said:  

“The £600 million – including £175 million capital funding - promised to the NHS in the Welsh government's draft budget for 2025-26 should alleviate some of the pressure on health boards, once approved. But that is still some way off, and with winter pressures already biting, there is little reprieve for patients waiting for treatment right now.

“It’s vital that capital funding in the budget is used to speed up the roll out surgical hubs so that we can start to help the thousands of patients in Wales on waiting lists living in pain and uncertainty. Hubs protect planned treatment from emergency pressures, like those we see in the winter, allowing operations to go ahead. We must avoid finding ourselves in a similar situation next winter.

“Staffing is also a major issue. We must support our healthcare staff who are feeling the toll of winter and years of relentless pressure following the pandemic. We need properly resourced teams, including more theatre staff, if we want to see waiting lists head in the right direction.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. There were 802,132 patient pathways waiting to start treatment at the end of October 2024. There were 801,307 patient pathways waiting to start treatment at the end of September 2024.
2. There were 764,197 patient pathways waiting to start treatment at the end of October 2023.
3. 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 
4. Data for patients waiting over one and two years to start treatment is drawn from the Welsh Government’s NHS activity and performance summary: September and October 2024: https://www.gov.wales/nhs-activity-and-performance-summary-october-and-november-2024 
5. ‘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.
6. 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. 
7. 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.  
8. 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.