Thousands of additional NHS appointments
An extra 15,000 outpatient appointments are being provided across Wales this month as part of plans to cut long waiting times.
The additional appointments, over and above normal core NHS activity, are part of the £120 million Welsh Government year long ambitious plan to tackle long waiting times and reduce the waiting list.
More than 20,000 extra cataract operations will be provided by the end of March 2026 as part of the plan. Health Secretary, Jeremy Miles, will today visit Llandough Hospital to meet some of the patients benefitting from the increase in cataract activity.
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board has reduced the number of ophthalmology pathways waiting more than 52 weeks by 34% in July 2025 compared to July 2024.
The latest NHS performance figures show just over 8,000 people were waiting more than 2 years for treatment in July across Wales, the second lowest figure since April 2021 and more than 88% lower than the peak in March 2022. The NHS remains on track to see significant reduction on long waits by the end of the second quarter of the year.
No one is waiting more than 2 years for treatment or more than a year for a first outpatient appointment in Swansea Bay and Powys health boards. In Hywel Dda, Aneurin Bevan, Cwm Taf Morgannwg, and Cardiff and Vale university health boards, less than 1% of people are waiting longer than 2 years for treatment.
The time ambulances spent waiting to transfer people to staff at a hospital emergency department in August 2025 was the second lowest since July 2021. And the average time people spent waiting for triage in emergency departments was the joint best recorded since February 2021, at 16 minutes.
For people in cardiac arrest where resuscitation was attempted, 27.4% had a return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) at the time of arrival to hospital. This was an improvement of 6 percentage points compared to July 2025. Higher ROSC rates can lead to increased chances of survival following a cardiac arrest.
The latest figures also show performance against the 62 day cancer target was above 60% for the sixth month in a row. In July, 2,301 people started cancer treatment, the highest figure on record. And more than 15,780 people received the good news they did not have cancer, the second highest figure on record.
Health Secretary, Jeremy Miles, said:
The extra £120 million I announced in June aims to deliver what people want – faster treatment.
This month, 15,000 extra outpatient appointments are being provided across Wales which shows how we are increasing activity all over the country to ensure people are being seen quicker.
In July, there were an average of just over 5,000 referrals for a first outpatient appointment a day, which is the highest figure on record and demonstrates the scale of demand for NHS care.
We are expecting to see fluctuations in the month on month statistics. I remain confident we will see a significant reduction in long waits by the end of the second quarter.
I want to thank the NHS workforce for their commitment and ongoing efforts to reduce long waiting times.