Written question WQ93704
- Asked by
- Sam RowlandsConservative
- To be answered by
- Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 13 days
Question
What is the Welsh Government doing to reduce waiting lists for cataract treatment?
Answer
Answered by Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
We are investing £170m every year to support the NHS to recover from the pandemic.
We have supported NHS organisations to increase capacity and to help address long waiting times – the number of ophthalmology open pathways over 104 weeks is 56% lower in May 2024 compared to April 2022 when we launched our planned care recovery plan.
We are encouraging all health boards to work on a regional basis and to maximise local capacity. A number of health boards have introduced one-stop cataract clinics, enabling people to go straight to treatment without first having to have an outpatient appointment.
Health boards are also implementing Getting it Right First Time (GiRFT) recommendations and increasing the number of people being seen in each session.