NHS Waiting Times in Wales – Tracking Progress and Policy Priorities

Reducing waiting times is a critical issue for constituents, clinicians, and policymakers alike. Long waits can delay diagnoses, prolong suffering, and increase pressure on emergency services. The data below aims to support scrutiny and inform debate, helping the Senedd and the public understand both the scale of the challenge and the direction of travel.

The data presents a visual overview of NHS waiting times in Wales, focusing on progress against the Welsh Government’s five key ambitions for planned care recovery, as set out in its 2022 transformation plan:

• Ambition 1: No one waiting longer than a year for their first outpatient appointment by the end of 2022
• Ambition 2: Eliminate waits longer than two years in most specialties by March 2023
• Ambition 3: Eliminate waits longer than one year in most specialties by Spring 2025
• Ambition 4: Speed up diagnostic testing and reporting to eight weeks, and therapy interventions to 14 weeks, by Spring 2024
• Ambition 5: Ensure cancer diagnosis and treatment within 62 days for 80% of people by 2026

The graphs below illustrate monthly data on patient pathways from January 2020 to the most recent figures available. A patient pathway represents the journey from referral to treatment. Importantly, one patient may be on several pathways, so the figures do not represent individual patients.

Data on NHS waiting times are published every month on StatsWales.

The Welsh Government now publishes provisional data, enabling some targets to be reported around a month earlier than previously—reducing the former seven-week delay. As this data is provisional and subject to revision, it is not included in the graphs below.

Click on the boxes to see other ambitions Ambition 1: No one waiting longer than a year for their first outpatient appointment by the end of 2022 In July 2025, 73,196 patient pathways were waiting over 53 weeks (more than a year) for their first out-patient appointment. Source: StatsWales, Patient pathways waiting to start treatment by month, grouped weeks and stage of pathway Ambition 2: Eliminate the number of people waiting longer than two years in most specialties by March 2023 In July 2025, 1,795 patient pathways were waiting over 105 weeks (more than two years) for trauma and orthopaedic treatments, 1,376 for general surgery treatments and 1,296 for ophthalmology. Source: StatsWales, Patient pathways waiting to start treatment by month, grouped weeks and treatment function, January 2021 onwards Ambition 3: Eliminate the number of people waiting longer than one year in most specialties by Spring 2025 In July 2025, 30,580 patient pathways were waiting over 53 weeks (more than a year) for trauma and orthopaedic treatment, 29,995 for ophthalmology and 17,195 for general surgery treatments. Source: StatsWales, Patient pathways waiting to start treatment by month, grouped weeks and treatment function, January 2021 onwards Ambition 4: Increase the speed of diagnostic testing and reporting to eight weeks and 14 weeks for therapy interventions by Spring 2024 In July 2025, 42,215 patient pathways were waiting 8 weeks or more for diagnostic services. A further 4,355 patient pathways were waiting over 14 weeks for therapy services. Source: StatsWales, Diagnostic and therapy services waiting times by month Ambition 5: Cancer diagnosis and treatment to be undertaken within 62 days for 80% of people by 2026 In July 2025, 61.0% of people who received a cancer diagnosis started their first definitive treatment within 62 days from the first point cancer was suspected. Source: StatsWales, Suspected cancer pathway (closed pathways): The number of pathways where the patient started their first definitive treatment and those informed they do not have cancer by local health board, tumour site, age group, sex, measure and month

Article by Sarah Hatherley, Helen Jones and Joe Wilkes, Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament