NHS patients in Wales are twice as likely to be stuck on waiting lists

PATIENTS in Wales are nearly twice as likely to be stuck on an NHS wait list as in England.

Figures show 21 per cent of the Welsh population is in a queue for treatment, compared to 13 per cent of the English.

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Backlogs have ballooned during the Covid pandemic with almost eight million people now waiting across the two nations.

The Labour Party has accused the Tories of running the NHS into the ground and allowing it to fall into crisis.

But data from across the border, where Labour is in power, show the situation is just as bad there – or worse.

A Conservative Party source said: “Labour’s record where they are in power speaks for itself, with people twice as likely to be waiting for treatment in Wales.

“With an extra investment of £6.6billion for the NHS over the next two years we’re making sure that people get the treatment they need like scans, tests, and operations more quickly.”

An analysis found there were 660,271 Welsh patients waiting for treatment after referral by a consultant doctor in November.

This equals 21.3 per cent of the 3million population.

The same figure for England stood at 7.2 million – 12.8 per cent of the 56m population.

A Sun on Sunday investigation recently revealed Welsh hospitals are blighted by longer A&E and ambulance waits, and higher avoidable death rates.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak committed to reducing the NHS waiting list by the end of this year as one of his five pledges to get Britain back on track.

New surgical hubs, scanning centres and day clinics are setting up across the country to try and bust the backlog.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “The overall growth in waiting lists in Wales has been smaller than in England over the last 12 months – it grew by 9.4 per cent in Wales and by 19.9 per cent in England.

“Long waiting times are falling every month, thanks to the hard work of NHS staff and the extra investment we are making in the health service.”

Labour added: “Patients in Wales enjoyed record short waiting times and the highest patient satisfaction in history when there was a Labour government in Westminster.

“I’m not sure the Conservatives are making the point they think they are.”