Recent figures reveal Betsi Cadwaladr’s hospitals are struggling with long waiting times, raising concerns about patient care in North Wales
Wrexham: The latest waiting time stats from the Welsh Government are out, and they’re not looking good. Betsi Cadwaladr hospitals are facing some serious delays. It’s a tough situation for everyone involved.
In North Wales, Betsi Cadwaladr had the worst waiting times for four-hour, eight-hour, and 12-hour targets. In November, only 45.5% of patients were seen within four hours, which is far from the 95% goal.
For the eight-hour target, the figure was 63.7%, and 75.4% for the 12-hour target. That means nearly 3,600 patients waited over 12 hours to be seen, which is pretty alarming.
Health Secretary Jeremy Miles visited Wrexham Maelor Hospital recently and mentioned a £50 million investment aimed at improving these figures. He’s hopeful that things will get better soon.
He acknowledged that waiting times are still too high and emphasized the need for faster treatment. There’s a slight positive trend, though, with fewer people joining the waiting list and some improvements in cancer waiting times.
To tackle the issue, they’re focusing on speeding up ambulance handovers and increasing hospital capacity. The health board is also working on expanding same-day emergency care to reduce the need for hospital admissions.
Overall, there’s a lot of work ahead, but with the right funding and strategies, they’re aiming to ease the pressure on emergency departments and improve patient care.
