The number of people in Wales waiting more than two years for NHS treatment has dropped to its lowest level since March 2021, according to the latest performance figures released by the Welsh Government.
In June 2025, just over 7,400 pathways were waiting more than two years, a 27.4% decrease from May and nearly 90% lower than the peak. The overall waiting list also saw a reduction of more than 2,000 patients, marking continued progress in tackling long waits.
For the first time, the Welsh Government has published provisional waiting times data for the following month, offering more timely updates. While July’s early data shows a slight increase in long waits, the overall trend remains downward.
This progress is supported by a £120 million plan to:
- Reduce the waiting list by 200,000
- Eliminate two-year waits
- Restore the eight-week diagnostic target by March 2026
Health boards have introduced measures to boost productivity and increase core activity, helping to meet these ambitious goals.
Emergency services also faced record demand in July, with nearly 101,900 attendances at emergency departments—an average of 3,287 per day, the highest on record.
Despite this pressure, ambulance handover delays have improved significantly:
- 18% faster handovers compared to June
- 36.1% improvement year-on-year
- 59.7% of patients were handed over in under 45 minutes
Welsh Health Secretary Jeremy Miles commented:
“It is encouraging to see the number of people waiting more than 2 years is at its lowest for more than 4 years.
“And I’m pleased to see a fall in the overall waiting list too.
“We expect to see some fluctuations in the number of long waits from month to month – that reflects in part the variation in the numbers of people who came onto the list 2 years ago, but I am confident there will be significant further reductions by the end of the next quarter in September, keeping us on track with our plan to bring down the longest waits.
“I know health boards are working very hard to bring waits down, and I can see the impact of this in the numbers of additional treatments being carried out. We need to make sure this continues over the months ahead.”
The national task force established to reduce ambulance delays will continue to monitor and maintain these improvements.
The Welsh Ambulance Service also introduced new purple and red call categories in July for cardiac arrest and life-threatening emergencies. There were 814 purple calls and 4,449 red calls, accounting for just over 14% of all calls.
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