Waiting Times in Wales – A National Crisis?.

The Welsh Government has recently announced its commitment to reduce NHS waiting times, with a national delivery plan due to be published at the end of 2026, which will put the cutting of waiting lists for NHS treatment at the forefront of their agenda.

Despite a higher bed capacity, compared to England, long waiting times in Wales have come about as a result of a backlog from the COVID-19 pandemic, a high demand from an aging population, staffing shortages and reduced accessibility to highly specialised services.

Figures released at the end of May 2026 show that, at the end of March 2026, there were 666,700 patient pathways waiting to start NHS treatment (some patients are waiting for more than one treatment, or on more than one pathway, so the number of patients waiting is closer to 529,100). Recent figures suggest that waiting lists are falling but not to the level targeted by the Sixth Senedd, and there remains around one in four people in Wales waiting for treatment.

There are over 12,600 pathways still waiting over one year for their first outpatient appointment and 95,900 pathways waiting over one year for treatment. On the face of it, the figures for England are very similar (at 94,000 in March 2026), however, this is in the context of a much larger population that is around 18 times the size of the Welsh population.

Despite aims to eliminate waits longer than two years by March 2023, there are still just under 2,600 patient pathways waiting over two years. In England the number of pathways waiting more than two years is almost entirely eliminated. While there is evidence of the figures having come down since the start of the Sixth Senedd, Wales still falls behind England and it is clear that there is still a lot of work to be done.

Some specialties are feeling the strain more than others. In March 2026, trauma and orthopaedics had the highest number of patients waiting, followed by general surgery and ophthalmology. Other problems areas include ENT, gynaecology and gastroenterology.

In respect of cancer care, the figures indicate that 60.2% of patients start treatment within 62-days of the disease first being suspected, falling short of the 80% target.

The newly appointed Health and Care Minister, Mabon ap Gwynfor, quite rightly identifies that “it is people's lives [they] are talking about”. For anybody requiring treatment a significant delay can have a serious impact on their day-to-day lives and livelihood, with their condition deteriorating while they wait for treatment. In some cases, it can mean a difference in the treatment options available and prospects of a cure.

When does it become clinical negligence?

Often, in clinical negligence, we see delays in diagnoses or treatment and, in some cases, the impact can be profound and could even be, sadly, fatal.

It is important to highlight that a long waiting time for treatment, in itself, is not grounds for a claim; there can be many reasons for delays in treatment including staffing shortages and resource limitations which are not usually grounds for a claim. Actionable grounds could be administration errors, misreporting of scans, a failure to refer, or a failure to act on a referral quickly enough, in line with National and local guidelines.

First and foremost, it is necessary to demonstrate that the delay goes beyond what is considered to be reasonably acceptable, and for that there must be some regard to guidelines and targets alongside looking into the reasons for the delay. It must then be shown that you have suffered serious harm as a result of that delay.

If you feel that you or a loved one has suffered serious harm, as a result of a delay in diagnosis or treatment, please reach out to our Clinical Negligence department who will be able to assist.