NHS waiting lists: referral to treatment: Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment within target time, September 2011 onwards
Contents
| Data values | Data description | Date | Local health board of residence | Local health board provider | Specialty | Grouped weeks waiting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 91.9 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | All Treatment Functions | Up to 26 weeks |
| 6.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | All Treatment Functions | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 2.1 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | All Treatment Functions | Over 36 weeks |
| 100.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Allied Health Profession Services | Up to 26 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Allied Health Profession Services | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Allied Health Profession Services | Over 36 weeks |
| 99.9 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Cardiology | Up to 26 weeks |
| 0.1 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Cardiology | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Cardiology | Over 36 weeks |
| 33.3 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Cardiothoracic Surgery | Up to 26 weeks |
| 33.3 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Cardiothoracic Surgery | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 33.3 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Cardiothoracic Surgery | Over 36 weeks |
| 100.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Clinical Neurophysiology | Up to 26 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Clinical Neurophysiology | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Clinical Neurophysiology | Over 36 weeks |
| 97.5 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Dermatology | Up to 26 weeks |
| 2.5 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Dermatology | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Dermatology | Over 36 weeks |
| 99.7 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Diagnostic Services | Up to 26 weeks |
| 0.3 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Diagnostic Services | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Diagnostic Services | Over 36 weeks |
| 92.5 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Ear, Nose and Throat | Up to 26 weeks |
| 7.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Ear, Nose and Throat | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.4 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Ear, Nose and Throat | Over 36 weeks |
| 99.9 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Endocrinology | Up to 26 weeks |
| 0.1 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Endocrinology | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Endocrinology | Over 36 weeks |
| 93.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Gastroenterology | Up to 26 weeks |
| 7.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Gastroenterology | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Gastroenterology | Over 36 weeks |
| 99.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | General Medicine | Up to 26 weeks |
| 1.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | General Medicine | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | General Medicine | Over 36 weeks |
| 94.2 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | General Surgery | Up to 26 weeks |
| 5.8 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | General Surgery | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | General Surgery | Over 36 weeks |
| 100.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Geriatric Medicine | Up to 26 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Geriatric Medicine | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Geriatric Medicine | Over 36 weeks |
| 91.7 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Gynaecology | Up to 26 weeks |
| 8.1 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Gynaecology | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.2 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Gynaecology | Over 36 weeks |
| 100.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Haemotology (clinical) | Up to 26 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Haemotology (clinical) | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Haemotology (clinical) | Over 36 weeks |
| 100.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Nephrology | Up to 26 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Nephrology | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Nephrology | Over 36 weeks |
| 100.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Neurology | Up to 26 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Neurology | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Neurology | Over 36 weeks |
| 66.7 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Neurosurgery | Up to 26 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Neurosurgery | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 33.3 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Neurosurgery | Over 36 weeks |
| 90.2 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Ophthalmology | Up to 26 weeks |
| 9.8 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Ophthalmology | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Ophthalmology | Over 36 weeks |
| 92.9 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Oral Surgery | Up to 26 weeks |
| 7.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Oral Surgery | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Oral Surgery | Over 36 weeks |
| 81.6 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Orthodontics | Up to 26 weeks |
| 18.4 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Orthodontics | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Orthodontics | Over 36 weeks |
| 100.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Paediatric Surgery | Up to 26 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Paediatric Surgery | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Paediatric Surgery | Over 36 weeks |
| 99.3 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Paediatrics | Up to 26 weeks |
| 0.7 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Paediatrics | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Paediatrics | Over 36 weeks |
| 99.4 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Pain Management | Up to 26 weeks |
| 0.6 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Pain Management | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Pain Management | Over 36 weeks |
| 100.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Plastic Surgery | Up to 26 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Plastic Surgery | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Plastic Surgery | Over 36 weeks |
| 99.1 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Respiratory Medicine | Up to 26 weeks |
| 0.9 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Respiratory Medicine | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Respiratory Medicine | Over 36 weeks |
| 100.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Restorative Dentistry | Up to 26 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Restorative Dentistry | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Restorative Dentistry | Over 36 weeks |
| 99.8 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Rheumatology | Up to 26 weeks |
| 0.2 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Rheumatology | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Rheumatology | Over 36 weeks |
| 72.5 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Trauma and Orthopaedic | Up to 26 weeks |
| 13.9 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Trauma and Orthopaedic | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 13.6 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Trauma and Orthopaedic | Over 36 weeks |
| 94.8 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Urology | Up to 26 weeks |
| 4.9 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Urology | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.3 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Wales LHB (Provider) | Urology | Over 36 weeks |
| 91.9 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Treatment Functions | Up to 26 weeks |
| 6.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Treatment Functions | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 2.1 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | Betsi Cadwaladr | All Treatment Functions | Over 36 weeks |
| 100.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | Betsi Cadwaladr | Allied Health Profession Services | Up to 26 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | Betsi Cadwaladr | Allied Health Profession Services | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | Betsi Cadwaladr | Allied Health Profession Services | Over 36 weeks |
| 100.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | Betsi Cadwaladr | Cardiology | Up to 26 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | Betsi Cadwaladr | Cardiology | 26 to 36 weeks |
| 0.0 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | Betsi Cadwaladr | Cardiology | Over 36 weeks |
| 97.5 | Percentage of patient pathways waiting to start treatment | Sep-2011 | Betsi Cadwaladr | Betsi Cadwaladr | Dermatology | Up to 26 weeks |
Main information
- Most recent update
- 23 October 2025
- Next update expected
- 20 November 2025
- Designation
- Accredited official statistics
- Data provider
- Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW)
- Data source
- Referral to Treatment Times (RTT)
Data notes
- Rounding applied
percentages are rounded to one decimal place
Overview
- Summary of dataset and variables
Information on referral to treatment (RTT) waiting times, reported by Local Health Boards. RTT is the period of time from referral by a GP or other medical practitioner to hospital for treatment in the NHS in Wales. An RTT pathway covers the time waited from referral to hospital for treatment in the NHS in Wales and includes time spent waiting for any hospital appointments, tests, scans or other procedures that may be needed before being treated.
- Data collection or calculation
The data presented draws on management information held by Local Health Boards relating to the management of patients who have been referred for hospital treatment. Guidance is provided to the NHS in Wales about how such patients should be managed and how to measure and report the relevant data. The data is reported monthly by Local Health Boards via the Digital Health and Care Wales Service (DHCW) switching service. The data collection has been in place since April 2007.
Please find this information in the related statistical release, as per the given weblink.
From 1st April 2019 health service provision for residents of Bridgend local authority moved from Abertawe Bro Morgannwg to Cwm Taf. The health board names have changed with Cwm Taf University Health Board becoming Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board and Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board becoming Swansea Bay University Health Board.
- Statistical quality
A referral to treatment pathway (RTT) covers the time waiting from referral to hospital for treatment and includes time spent waiting for any hospital appointments, tests, scans or other procedures that may be needed before being treated.
A patient pathway opens, and a waiting time begins, at the point a hospital receives a referral. Referrals are most commonly submitted by GPs but may also come from other health care professionals. The main activity measure for referral to treatment time is a count of the number of patient pathways which are open at the end of each month. This can be thought of as ‘the waiting list’.
A patient pathway is closed if either the patient starts treatment, or if following consultation with a hospital specialist, no hospital treatment is necessary. This could include: patient admitted to hospital for an operation or treatment starting treatment that does not need a stay in hospital (for example, medication or physiotherapy) beginning the fitting of a medical device such as leg braces starting an agreed period of time to monitor the patient’s condition to assess the need for further treatment Patients with complex needs may have referrals for multiple types of treatments so may have many pathways opened and will appear in the dataset more than one time. This means that the same patient can have different pathways counted in the calculations for both targets.
In March 2016, we changed some of the terminology used in referral to treatment reporting. Previously, when publishing these statistics, we used the terminology ‘patients’. However, some users misinterpreted this as unique patients. It is possible that a person could be on a number of different lists waiting for different conditions – i.e. there would be one patient but more than one pathway. Due to the RTT dataset being an aggregate data collection we’re not able to measure the number of unique patients. Therefore, we are using the terminology ‘patient pathways’, to better reflect the fact that one person can be on multiple waiting lists. The methodology use to measure and calculate these statistics has not changed. This is also more consistent with the other nations of the UK in their reporting of RTT.
From April 2016, there has been a change in the treatment function codes submitted by the local health boards.
More detailed treatment functions have been introduced recently but have not been used consistently across all Local Health Boards; for example, patients receiving vascular surgery may have been recorded in either “General Surgery” or “Vascular Surgery” treatment functions. To reduce uncertainty and make counts more reliable, the new functions will be removed temporarily and treatment functions will be recorded under the more general headings; for example, all patients receiving vascular surgery will now be published under “General Surgery” until consistent recording of treatment functions is confirmed across all Local Health Boards. This has now been fully actioned back to April 2016 when the new codes were introduced and will remain under general headings until the more detailed treatment functions are used consistently across Wales.
Published by
- Organisation
- Welsh Government
- Contact email
- stats.healthinfo@gov.wales