Only 64.3% of patients were seen within four hours in December, as Conservatives accuse Welsh Government of failing to end long waits

PERFORMANCE in Welsh emergency departments has slipped further from the four-hour target, with new NHS figures showing the lowest level for three years.

The latest statistics show that in December, only 64.3% of patients spent less than four hours in emergency departments from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge — far below the 95% target.

The figures also show 10,193 patients waited 12 hours or more in December, despite the target being that no patients should face waits of that length.

The Welsh Conservatives said the overall NHS waiting list remains at 757,866 patient pathways (November), which they described as the equivalent of nearly one in four people in Wales. They also highlighted what they claim is a continuing gap with England, stating that Wales had 6,883 two-year waits for treatment compared with 177 in England.

In a statement, Peter Fox MS, Chair of the Senedd’s Health and Social Care Committee and the Welsh Conservatives’ Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, said: “It is clear that after 27 years of Plaid-backed Labour Governments, our NHS is broken. In some areas, the situation is even deteriorating.”

He claimed ambulance response times, cancer performance and emergency department waits had all worsened, and said the Welsh Conservatives would declare a “health emergency”, increase hospital bed capacity, and roll out rapid diagnostic centres and surgical hubs to improve patient flow and cut waits.

The Welsh Government has previously pointed to recent reductions in the overall waiting list and the longest waits for planned treatment, alongside investment aimed at increasing appointment capacity, including through weekend clinics.

Conservatives say ministers must be held to account as health chief confirms figures are not routinely available

CONSERVATIVE MS Andrew RT Davies has demanded Senedd ministers begin collecting and publishing data on “corridor care” in Welsh hospitals, after the Welsh Government confirmed it is not currently able to provide routine figures.

Mr Davies raised the issue in the Senedd during questions to Health Minister Jeremy Miles, asking whether information is being gathered on patients being cared for in corridors and, if so, how many people are affected.

Mr Miles told MSs the data is not currently available in a form that can be published routinely, but said the Welsh Government is “trialling approaches” which would put ministers in a position to provide regular publication.

The exchange comes amid ongoing concern across Wales about severe pressure in emergency departments and delays in moving patients into appropriate ward beds — a situation that can result in people waiting for treatment, assessment or admission in areas not designed for patient care.

The term “corridor care” is widely used to describe circumstances where patients receive care in inappropriate settings, often due to a lack of capacity elsewhere. Health bodies and staff representatives have warned that such conditions can affect privacy and dignity, make infection control harder, and place additional strain on staff working in already pressured environments.

Mr Davies said he had been contacted by constituents in the Vale of Glamorgan reporting what he described as unacceptable experiences in local hospitals, adding that frontline NHS staff should not be blamed.

He also linked the issue to wider spending priorities at the Senedd, claiming that services were under strain while ministers pursued other policies, including plans to expand the size of the Senedd and maintain a “Nation of Sanctuary” approach to asylum seekers.

Mr Davies said it was vital that corridor care data was collected and published so that the scale of the problem could be measured and ministers held to account.

Mr Davies said: “I’m frequently contacted by Vale constituents reporting unacceptable experiences in local hospitals.

“This is not the fault of NHS staff – but hospitals are underfunded thanks to resources instead going towards Plaid Cymru separatist and Labour plans for 36 more Senedd members and a Nation of Sanctuary for asylum seekers.

“We must end corridor care – and it’s vital this data is made available to hold Senedd ministers to account.”

In response, the Welsh Government position is that it is working on ways to standardise and publish information on corridor care, but that the data is not yet routinely available across the system.

Opposition parties and health campaigners have argued that without clear national reporting, it is harder for the public and Senedd members to understand how widespread the issue is, whether it is improving, and which hospitals are under the greatest pressure.

The Welsh Government has not yet set out when routine publication will begin, but ministers say the trial work is intended to enable regular reporting in future.

Controls against list inflation appear effective, but some duplicates and deceased records remained

GP practice patient lists in Wales are in “good health overall”, with no immediate evidence of fraud found in a new data-matching exercise carried out with NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership (NWSSP), according to Audit Wales.

The pilot focused on two areas that can affect the accuracy of practice lists and, by extension, the way practices are funded: duplicate patient registrations and deceased individuals not being removed in a timely manner.

Audit Wales said the payment system for GP practices is complex, but patient numbers sit at the heart of it — creating an inherent risk that inflated lists could lead to incorrect payments. Accurate lists also support wider primary care management, including ensuring patients receive timely invitations for services such as screening and preventing people who should not be registered from blocking appointment invitations.

While auditors found no immediate evidence of fraud in the areas examined, a small number of errors were identified.

The exercise found 140 duplicate registrations to date, with a further 395 potential matches still under investigation. It also identified 15 cases where deceased individuals remained on GP patient lists, with some left on the lists for a significant period.

Audit Wales said these issues meant some GP funding had been allocated inaccurately, but the amount involved was low.

The findings suggest patient list inflation controls are generally sound in the areas covered by the pilot, though NWSSP is working to strengthen its central controls. Audit Wales also noted recent wider IT system changes affecting England, Wales and the Isle of Man.

Auditor General for Wales Adrian Crompton said data matching and other analytic techniques are becoming increasingly important as public bodies tackle risks around fraud and error.

He said: “The results from this exercise have not identified significant concerns about the accuracy of GP patient lists and that is a good thing. But there is no room for complacency. I therefore welcome the way in which NWSSP has taken forward learning from this exercise as part of wider improvements it has already made.”

The pilot compared certain personal details for permanently registered adult patients across GP lists in Wales and against UK Government death registration records. It identified just over 7,000 potential matches from around 2.7 million records processed, with most of the matches investigated by NWSSP found to be explainable false positives.

Audit Wales said the Auditor General is the independent statutory external auditor of the devolved Welsh public sector, responsible for the annual audit of the majority of public money spent in Wales.