Written question WQ85363
- Asked by
- Rhun ap IorwerthPlaid
- To be answered by
- Minister for Health and Social Services
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 13 days
Question
What assessment the Minister has made of the impact of lengthening waits for elective surgery on health inequalities?
Answer
Answered by Minister for Health and Social Services
In relation to your question on the number of patient pathways waiting specifically for an elective surgical procedure, the Welsh Government does not hold this level of detail.
A proxy for numbers waiting for treatment is those at stage 4 of the referral to treatment pathway. This data can be found on the StatsWales website
Patient pathways waiting to start treatment by month, grouped weeks and stage of pathway (gov.wales)
The data on the StatsWales website can also be broken down by speciality, but not by specific procedure.
In relation to your question on assessment of impact of waits on health inequalities, I was clear that this was a priority area within the planned care recovery plan. There is a commitment to ensure any impact on inequalities from length of waits is reduced and that local and national service redesign identifies and addresses the appropriate needs.