Surgeons in Wales call for investment in surgical hubs as health service faces another difficult winter

The waiting list for referral to consultant-led hospital treatment in Wales has risen for the eighth consecutive month, reaching a new record high of 801,307 in September 2024.

As the health service in Wales heads towards another difficult winter, the Royal College of Surgeons of England is once again calling on the Welsh government to accelerate the development of surgical hubs. These hubs, which separate planned procedures, such as hip and knee replacements and gallbladder removals, from emergency care, help avoid last minute cancellations and allow patients to have their operations even when hospitals face high demand.

The latest data from Stats Wales shows the waiting list grew by 1,144 between August and September 2024, with the total waiting list over 40,000 higher than the same time last year, when the figure was 760,853.

There were just under 169,300 patient pathways waiting more than one year as of September. Just over 23,700 were waiting for more than two years, which is 2% lower than the previous of month.

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

“Waiting times for planned treatment in Wales make for dismal reading, and with winter fast approaching, the situation is only going to become more difficult. Despite intense effort by NHS staff, the numbers continue to head in the wrong direction.

“We have to remind ourselves that these figures represent hundreds of thousands of patients, waiting worried, and in discomfort or pain, for their turn to have life-changing surgery.

"While the announcement this week of further cash for the NHS in Wales is welcome, it won't be an overnight fix. Part of the solution has to be speeding up the development of surgical hubs in Wales, so surgery can go ahead during those periods when the NHS is under increased pressure, such as winter.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. There were 801,307 patient pathways waiting to start treatment at the end of September 2024. There were 800,163 patient pathways waiting to start treatment at the end of August 2024.  There were 760,853 patient pathways waiting to start treatment at the end of September 2023.
2. Welsh First Minster Eluned Morgan said on Saturday 16 November that £22 million more will be made available to tackle NHS waiting lists in Wales, in addition to £28 million already pledged.
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-september-and-october-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.