Health Secretary response to latest NHS Wales performance data: January and February 2025

Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care Jeremy Miles, said:

“I am pleased to see further falls in the longest waits and the overall size of the waiting list.

“Two-year waits were almost 11% lower in January than in December and there were also reductions in the number of people waiting more than a year for a first outpatient appointment, and for diagnostic tests and for therapies.

“This shows that health board plans, which we have supported with £50m of additional investment, are having a positive impact on the longest waits.

“This is promising but we still have a long way to go to ensure people have timely access to planned care.

“I am today visiting the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend, which has made remarkable progress in reducing long waiting times despite the disruption caused by ongoing work to repair its roof.

“The latest figures show urgent and emergency care services across Wales continue to be extremely busy, but performance improved again in February against key targets.

“Despite receiving the highest number of life-threatening 999 calls for any February on record, just over 51% of ambulances responded within eight minutes and the average ambulance response time was seven minutes and 52 seconds.

“And there was an improvement in the four and 12-hour performance at emergency departments.

“We are also publishing performance data for individual health boards today.

“Swansea Bay University Health Board continues to make positive progress in reducing waiting times – no one is waiting more than a year for a first outpatient appointment and it has the lowest proportion of pathways waiting more than a year for treatment.

“Powys Teaching Health Board is making good progress in terms of diagnostics and therapies, with the lowest proportion of people waiting more than eight weeks for diagnostics and 14 weeks for therapies."