Delays averaged 17 a day as MS demands targets, hospital-level figures and a timetable for improvement

MORE than 500 ambulance handovers at hospitals run by Hywel Dda University Health Board took longer than an hour during a single month, newly disclosed figures have revealed.

A total of 528 handovers exceeded 60 minutes in October 2025, equivalent to an average of around 17 lengthy delays every day.

Each delayed handover can leave a patient waiting in an ambulance outside hospital while the crew remains unavailable to respond to another emergency.

Even using one hour as the minimum, the 528 incidents represent more than 528 ambulance-hours spent on lengthy hospital handovers. The true figure will have been higher because every handover included in the total exceeded the hour mark.

However, the information released does not show which hospitals recorded the most delays, how long the worst handover lasted or how many ambulance hours were lost beyond the normal handover period.

It also provides no indication of whether performance improved or deteriorated in the months following October.

Claire Archibald, Reform UK Member of the Senedd for Ceredigion Penfro, obtained the figure after submitting a written question to the Welsh Government.

She has challenged ministers to publish a measurable recovery plan for West Wales, including targets for reducing delays and regular health-board-level performance figures.

The disclosure comes against a backdrop of sustained pressure throughout the Welsh emergency care system.

Official figures show that almost 96,800 people attended emergency departments across Wales in October 2025. Only 66 per cent were admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours, against a national target of 95 per cent.

A further 10,499 patients spent 12 hours or more in emergency departments during the month, an increase of 414 compared with September.

Problems moving patients out of hospital were also evident. On the day discharge data was collected in October, nearly 1,500 patients who were medically ready to leave hospital were still waiting for care, support or suitable accommodation.

Those patients had accumulated more than 64,100 days of delayed hospital stays between them.

Delayed discharges reduce the number of available hospital beds. This can leave patients waiting in emergency departments for admission and, in turn, prevent ambulance crews from handing over new arrivals promptly.

The latest Welsh Government figures suggest that pressure has continued well beyond October.

In May 2026, 11,066 people waited 12 hours or more in Welsh emergency departments, while only 64.4 per cent were admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.

There were also more than 1,300 recorded delayed discharges, involving almost 57,200 accumulated days of delay.

The median response to the most serious red-category ambulance emergencies was nine minutes and 12 seconds, outside the target range of six to eight minutes.

Ms Archibald said: “More than 500 ambulance handovers taking over an hour in a single month is deeply concerning.

“Behind every one of those figures is a patient waiting for care and an ambulance crew unable to respond to another emergency.

“The Welsh Government’s response contains many of the same general assurances we have heard before, but it does not provide a deadline, a measurable target or explain what specific action is being taken within Hywel Dda.

“Ambulance crews and hospital staff are working incredibly hard, but they are being let down by a system that is struggling to move patients safely through hospitals and back into the community.”

In its written response, the Welsh Government said it was working with Hywel Dda University Health Board, the Welsh Ambulance Service and other partners to improve patient flow, timely discharge and same-day emergency care.

Ms Archibald said the answer did not include a reduction target, timetable or detailed health-board-specific action plan.

She added: “People across Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion need to know when these delays will be reduced and how progress will be measured.

“I will continue pressing the Welsh Government for a clear and accountable plan to ensure patients receive urgent care when they need it.”

The figures leave a number of important questions unanswered, including how the 528 delayed handovers were divided between individual hospitals, the longest time any patient waited, the total operational hours lost and whether any patient-harm incidents were associated with the delays.

Ms Archibald has called for monthly handover figures to be published for each health board, alongside clear targets showing when ministers expect the number of hour-long delays to fall.

Auditor classifies excess expenditure as ‘irregular’ after health board fails both statutory financial duties

HYWEL DDA University Health Board spent £112 million more than it was authorised to over a three-year period, according to a report by the Auditor General for Wales.

The finding comes as new figures show NHS Wales ended 2025-26 with an annual deficit of £199 million, £75 million worse than the previous year, despite receiving a significant increase in funding.

Auditors found that Hywel Dda exceeded its cumulative revenue resource limit of £3.893 billion by £112.043 million between 2023-24 and 2025-26.

Because the spending was above the limit authorised under the NHS financial framework, the Auditor General classified the excess as “irregular expenditure” and issued a qualified opinion on the regularity of the health board’s accounts.

The term does not mean that auditors found fraud or that the money was unaccounted for. It means Hywel Dda spent beyond the authority granted to it after failing to balance its finances over the rolling three-year period.

The health board’s accounts were found to give a true and fair picture of its financial position, and auditors reported no uncorrected misstatements that needed to be brought to the board’s attention.

However, Hywel Dda failed both of the statutory financial duties imposed on health boards.

The first requires boards to balance their income and expenditure over a rolling three-year period.

The second requires them to produce a three-year integrated plan approved by Welsh ministers. Hywel Dda did not have an approved plan covering 2025-26 to 2027-28.

The local findings form part of a wider financial crisis facing the Welsh health service.

Audit Wales said NHS Wales received £12.39 billion in revenue funding during 2025-26, an increase of £823 million compared with the previous year and a real-terms rise of 3.8 per cent.

Despite that increase, the annual NHS Wales deficit rose from £124 million to £199 million.

The accumulated deficit over the latest three-year period has now reached £506 million.

Six of Wales’s seven health boards failed their statutory duty to break even over three years. Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board was the only board to meet the requirement and the only one to have a three-year plan approved by the Welsh Government.

Audit Wales warned that the overall deficit was unlikely to improve in the near future, with most health boards still unable to produce financially balanced plans.

The health service reported savings of £256 million during the year, but this was only £3 million more than in 2024-25.

Auditors also raised concerns about an increasing reliance on temporary, one-off savings rather than permanent reductions in costs.

There was some improvement in spending on agency staff, which fell to £128 million. That was 61 per cent below the peak recorded in 2022-23, although almost three-quarters of the remaining agency bill was used to cover vacant posts.

Darren Hughes, director of the Welsh NHS Confederation, said health boards had worked hard to identify savings and reduce agency expenditure, but were still facing intense pressures caused by rising demand and increasing costs.

He said NHS leaders were being forced to make exceptionally difficult decisions, adding that “efficiencies alone will not be enough to secure a sustainable future for the NHS”.

Mr Hughes called for service redesign to be undertaken in partnership with staff, patients and communities, alongside greater investment in buildings, infrastructure and digital technology.

He said more than 60 per cent of the NHS estate in Wales was over 30 years old, while the backlog of essential maintenance work had exceeded £1 billion.

Mr Hughes added: “We need an honest national conversation about the changes required to ensure health and care services can meet future demand.”

More than 4,300 people have applied to study nursing in Wales, but the profession’s union says students must be assured of employment when they qualify

INTEREST in studying nursing in Wales has remained broadly stable following last year’s five-year high, according to the latest university application figures.

Data published by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, known as UCAS, shows that 4,340 people had applied for nursing courses in Wales by the June 2026 deadline.

That is 30 fewer than the 4,370 applications recorded at the same point last year, representing a decrease of approximately 0.7%.

However, the latest total remains significantly higher than in 2024, when 3,870 applications were received. Applications rose by almost 13% between 2024 and 2025, suggesting that interest in joining the profession has remained relatively resilient despite the pressures facing NHS Wales.

The Royal College of Nursing Wales welcomed the continued interest but said attracting people into nursing education must be matched by clear employment opportunities once they complete their training.

Professor Sandy Harding, Associate Director of Nursing Policy and Professional Practice at RCN Wales, said: “It is encouraging to see continued interest in nursing programmes in Wales.

“While application numbers are slightly lower than last year, the difference is minimal and follows a particularly strong year for recruitment.

“Nursing remains a rewarding and valued profession, and we are pleased that so many people continue to choose Wales as a place to study.”

She said many applicants would come from outside Wales, bringing different experiences and perspectives to universities and the future nursing workforce.

The latest figures come amid continuing concern about the number of jobs available to nurses after they qualify.

In May, Health Education and Improvement Wales announced that 809 roles would be made available across NHS Wales for nurses completing their training during the remainder of 2026.

RCN Wales said that was enough to provide jobs for around 69% of the anticipated graduating cohort, potentially leaving almost one in three newly qualified nurses without a confirmed NHS role in Wales.

The union has repeatedly called on the Welsh Government to introduce a graduate guarantee, ensuring that nursing students trained in Wales are offered employment within the Welsh NHS after qualifying.

The Herald previously reported that 65 final-year adult nursing students connected to Swansea Bay University Health Board had been left with no suitable vacancies to apply for despite completing much of their clinical training in local hospitals.

At the time, the health board was understood to have introduced a partial vacancy freeze because of financial pressures.

The situation prompted criticism from the RCN, which warned of a contradiction between reports of staff shortages across NHS Wales and the lack of entry-level posts for people completing nursing degrees.

RCN figures highlighted in earlier Herald reporting suggested NHS Wales was struggling to fill more than 1,400 registered nurse vacancies during late 2025.

The union warned that shortages were placing additional pressure on existing staff, increasing reliance on agency workers and contributing to burnout and unpaid overtime.

Professor Harding said Wales had invested considerably in educating its future nursing workforce and should ensure that graduates were not forced to move elsewhere to begin their careers.

She said: “As students prepare to begin their nursing education this September, we look forward to welcoming them and supporting them throughout their studies.

“We will engage with many of them during their first placement experiences and in their early weeks of clinical practice.

“At the same time, it is important that we continue to focus on employment opportunities for those completing their nursing programmes.

“Wales has invested significantly in educating the next generation of nurses, and we want newly qualified registrants to be able to build their careers within the Welsh NHS and wider health and care system.”

The RCN fears that graduates who cannot secure suitable posts could be lost to health services elsewhere in the United Kingdom, overseas or outside the profession altogether.

It has also raised concerns about career development for nurses who do secure employment, including limited progression from Band 5 roles and a lack of funded support programmes for newly qualified staff.

Professor Harding added: “RCN Wales continues to call on the Welsh Government to guarantee employment opportunities for all nursing graduates in Wales.

“At a time when services face significant workforce pressures, it is essential that newly qualified nurses are able to move into practice, develop their skills and contribute to patient care.

“Supporting people into nursing education and ensuring there are opportunities for them when they graduate are both critical to building a sustainable nursing workforce for the future.”

The UCAS figures record applications rather than the number of students who ultimately accept places and begin courses.

Further acceptance and enrolment data will therefore provide a clearer indication of how many new nursing students are expected to begin their studies in Wales during the new academic year.