Fresh funding helps cut orthopaedic waiting times

MORE than £21m is being made available to help cut orthopaedic waiting times across Wales. Health Minister, Lesley Griffiths, made the announcement after it was revealed that, since 2005, there has been a near 30% increase in the number of referrals to orthopaedics for a range of reasons, including a growing elderly population and more people living with chronic conditions. This trend is likely to continue for the next five to 10 years. Individual allocations to health boards from the moneypot will be announced shortly. Griffiths said: "Five years ago, there were nearly 72,000 patients in Wales waiting more than six months for treatment across all specialties. Of these, nearly 7,300 patients were waiting more than 12 months for definitive treatment. The latest waiting time figures show that if the orthopaedic specialty is excluded, waiting time performance remains above the 26 week target and has done so since October 2009. This is a significant achievement from just a few years ago. However, due to the significant pressures within orthopaedic services, performance has been difficult to maintain." As of last March, 4,361 orthopaedic patients were waiting longer than 36 weeks, but the Government anticipates that by the end of March next year the vast majority of these patients will have been removed from the list. Griffiths said: "This is not a quick fix - the funding will be used to bring about a sustainable service model over the next three years, but in the short-term we need to increase orthopaedic capacity and reduce the backlog that has built up."