Wales needs a ‘clear plan’ to tackle waiting list issue
A CLEAR strategic plan is needed for the recovery of NHS services in Wales in the wake of mounting waiting lists caused by the pandemic.
That’s according to leading medical experts who have voiced deep concerns about the huge volumes of patients needing non-covid related surgery and other treatments.
According to latest figures from the Welsh Government, in January 2021 there were 541,702 people waiting for planned treatment from the NHS - a record high. Close to half of them (221,849) have been on the waiting list for nine months (36 weeks) or more, an astonishing rise when compared to the 27,314 recorded in January 2020.
In fields of expertise such as ear, nose and throat (ENT), ophthalmology and trauma and orthopaedics, more than half of all patients have been on the waiting list for nine months or more.
Since January 2020 the waiting list for planned hospital treatment in Wales has grown by more than 79,344 which is largely down to nonurgent care being postponed to deal with the surge of coronavirus cases in both the first and second waves.
It is understood that the backlog is estimated to take up to five years to clear but some suggest it could be reduced to two with “innovative, out-ofthe-box” ways of thinking.
Richard Johnson, director in Wales for the Royal College of Surgeons of England and consultant breast surgeon, said the recovery of surgical services is one of the biggest challenges facing the Welsh NHS. Under current Welsh Government targets created before the pandemic, 95% of patients should be treated within six months.
“We are calling for NHS Wales to carry out detailed modelling about the scale of the waiting times in Wales and set out a timescale for tackling it,” he said. “We need to have an honest conversation with patients about how much longer they will need to wait for surgery. In addition to our duty towards our patients, we also need to support our staff who are exhausted after a year of relentlessly fighting the pandemic.
“Opportunities must be given to trainees when hospitals systematically start getting to grips with their waiting lists. If there is no training made available now, we will have no surgeons tomorrow.”
Mr Johnson has called on the next Welsh Government to establish “Covidlight” sites so planned procedures can be carried out safely.
“The next Welsh Government needs to send clear instructions to health boards to collaborate and plan strategically across regional boundaries to ensure equity of access to safe surgery for patients,” he added.
“We would also like to see a strategic plan for the recovery of planned surgical services in Wales, overseen by a national planned surgery recovery taskforce and named clinical leader. Finally a review of the organisation of surgical services across Wales is needed so that we can plan for a resilient model of care that can withstand future pandemics.”
Dr Phil Banfield, chairman of the BMA Cymru Wales’ Consultants Committee, said the latest referral to treatment times (RTT) figures are a “stark reminder” that the health service remains “in an incredibly precarious state”.