100,000+ still waiting for surgery

NEW data shows the scale of the operation backlog facing the Welsh NHS, with more than 100,000 people waiting more than nine months for surgery.

When the Covid-19 epidemic started the Welsh Government cancelled all non-urgent procedures. Even before Covid, the system was already struggling to keep up with demand and there were long waiting lists at many health boards.

The latest figures show that the number of procedures with a waiting time of more than 36 weeks has increase by over 1,600% in some areas.

The figures came from Health Minister Vaughan Gething in response to a question by South Wales Central MS Neil McEvoy.

They show the number of procedures with a wait of over 36 weeks has increased significantly across every health board area in Wales.

The increases were: 1,007% in Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (UHB); 156% in Betsi Cadwaladr UHB; 530% in Cardiff and Vale UHB; 332% in Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB;

1,634% in Hywel Dda UHB; and 178% in Swansea Bay UHB. Powys Teaching Health Board had no procedures with waits as long as nine months before March so there is no percentage to give. There are now 519 on the waiting list for 36 weeks.

According to the British Medical Association (BMA) “there is virtually no medical speciality that is untouched” but how bad the situation is depends on where you live.

“It is very patchy across health boards and hospitals,” said Richard Johnson, a consultant breast surgeon based in the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend.

“There is no consistency so there is a bit of a postcode lottery going on depending on where you are living and how well your health board is getting their plans going again.”

In response to Mr McEvoy’s questions, Mr Gething said: “Consultants are now going through their waiting lists to risk stratify and prioritise all patients, so that when it is safe to restart services, the most urgent patients are seen first.

“Management information shows that at the end of July 2020, there were nearly 480,000 patients waiting on the open referral to treatment pathway.

“This is an increase of 5% compared to the end of March. Of those waiting at the end of July, nearly 120,000 had been waiting over 36 weeks, an increase of 324% compared to March.”