Welsh NHS waiting list times lowest for six years

NHS waiting lists in Wales have fallen to the lowest level in almost six years.

- By ABBIE WIGHTWICK

The latest figures, published on March 19, show the average waiting time for treatment is now around 18 weeks - down from 23 weeks in August 2024 and the lowest since the pandemic started.

Around 557,900 individual patients are currently on treatment waiting lists in Wales, the NHS Activity and Performance Summary: January and February 2026 shows.

At the same time, targets are being missed on ambulance times, waits in accident and emergency departments and for cancer treatment, the document also shows.

The latest waiting-time data for Wales reveals:

■ the biggest monthly fall in the waiting list in January 2026 down 27,900;

■ this was the eighth month in a row the waiting list has fallen the most sustained period of reduction on record;

■ the waiting list is now at its lowest level since April 2022;.

■ long waits of more than two years continue to fall a reduction of 19,000 between August 2024 and January 2026;

■ the average time patients had been waiting for treatment at the end of January was 1.2 weeks shorter than the previous month at 17.8 weeks, the lowest figure since April 2020; and

■ a fall in waits of more than two years.

Health boards have also seen an extra 187,000 outpatient appointments and a record-breaking 37,000 cataract operations to date, the report also shows.

The Welsh Government said the improvements are the result of changes to make the NHS more productive, backed up with £120m additional funding.

But in other areas, targets were missed.