February 19, 2026 - 239 views
NHS waiting lists in Wales have fallen for the seventh consecutive month, with ministers claiming their £120 million recovery plan is delivering tangible results — but concerns remain in North Wales, where Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board continues to lag behind other parts of the country.
Figures published on 19 February show the overall waiting list fell by 16,900 in December compared with November and is now at its lowest level since March 2023.
Long waits have reduced sharply, with fewer than 5,300 people waiting more than two years for treatment — down by around 1,600 in a single month and a 92.5% reduction from the peak in March 2022.
The average waiting time for treatment across Wales has fallen to 19 weeks, and the number of patients waiting more than 36 weeks is at its lowest level since March 2021. Provisional data for January suggests further reductions in both overall waits and one-year waits.
The improvements follow a £120m Welsh Government plan aimed at cutting the longest delays and boosting activity in outpatient clinics, diagnostic services and operating theatres. More than 153,000 additional outpatient appointments have already been delivered across Wales.
First Minister Eluned Morgan said the latest figures showed “real progress that’s making a massive difference to people’s lives”.
“I made a commitment to the people of Wales to cut the waiting list and the longest waits. That’s exactly what is happening,” she said during a visit to Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil.
However, while most health boards have now virtually eliminated two-year waits, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board — which covers North Wales — remains the exception.
In December, every health board in Wales except Betsi Cadwaladr had either no patients waiting longer than two years or fewer than 1% of patients in that category. The North Wales board, which serves a population of around 700,000 across Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Wrexham and Anglesey, continues to face significant pressures.
Betsi Cadwaladr has been under intense scrutiny in recent years, including periods in special measures due to governance, financial and performance concerns. Long-standing recruitment challenges, high demand in rural and coastal communities, and an ageing population have all contributed to sustained waiting list pressures in the region.
Across Wales, just over 32,700 people are waiting more than a year for a first outpatient appointment — the lowest figure since September 2020. Some health boards, including Swansea Bay and Powys, now report no one-year waits for first outpatient appointments, while Hywel Dda has reduced them to less than 1%. North Wales has not yet reached that position.
Health leaders in the region have previously acknowledged that recovery is progressing but say the scale of historic backlog, combined with workforce shortages and service reconfiguration, means improvements may take longer to filter through locally.
For patients in North Wales, the latest national statistics offer signs of momentum — but the contrast with other parts of Wales highlights the continuing challenge facing Betsi Cadwaladr in bringing waiting times fully back in line with the rest of the country.
Ministers insist the recovery plan is working and say they will continue investing to ensure the downward trend continues. For communities across North Wales, the key question is how quickly those national improvements will translate into shorter waits closer to home.
