Waiting times across the Welsh NHS are moving in the right direction, with thousands fewer patients waiting more than a year for treatment, according to new figures published today.

Health Secretary Jeremy Miles said the latest data shows the impact of extra investment and the efforts of NHS staff, with long waits continuing to fall and record numbers of patients being treated.

Figures for October show the number of people waiting more than a year for their first outpatient appointment dropped by 10,400 compared with September. Overall, the waiting list also fell by around 9,200 people.

The Welsh Government says provisional data for November suggests even bigger reductions are on the way.

In a sign of the scale of activity taking place across hospitals in Wales, almost 139,000 patient pathways were closed in October – the highest figure on record. A patient pathway covers the full journey from referral to treatment.

Mr Miles said: “Today’s figures show we are on the right path to reduce the longest waits and cut the size of the waiting list.

“This has only been possible thanks to the commitment of our fantastic NHS staff and the extra funding provided by the Welsh Government to ensure tens of thousands more appointments are delivered.”

The Health Secretary also confirmed that an investigation into the handling of waiting times data at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board – which serves North Wales – has now been completed.

Revised figures show that a small number of patient pathways were added to the official totals between April and August as a result of data management issues.

Mr Miles stressed that this did not affect patient care.

“I want to be clear this was a data management issue and not a patient treatment issue. Procedures and processes have been tightened,” he said.

Betsi Cadwaladr has faced intense scrutiny in recent years over waiting times and performance, and the Welsh Government says improved data handling will help ensure a clearer picture of pressures facing the service.

While the latest figures show progress, the Health Secretary acknowledged more work remains.

“There is more to do to reduce long waits, but I want to thank NHS staff for their continued efforts,” he added.

The Welsh Government has committed extra funding to boost planned care and increase the number of appointments, as part of its drive to bring down waiting lists and improve access to treatment for patients across Wales.