What we're doing

Following on from our Tackling the Planned Care Backlog publication, this article will summarise on health board audit findings and consider recent progress made with planned care recovery.

Why we're doing it

Large waiting lists for planned care were an issue before the COVID pandemic. Since it started, the number of people on NHS waiting lists has grown considerably, resulting in a large number of people waiting over two years. The Welsh Government subsequently developed plans and provided significant additional resources to both help reduce the longest waits and reduce the size of the waiting list backlog. The waiting list backlog has a real impact on patients. If patients cannot access timely care, then their condition may worsen. This could lead to irreversible harm, and/or result in them having to access care through another route, such as unscheduled care.

When we'll report

Summer 2026.