Outpatient referrals, April 2012 onwards

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Data valuesData descriptionDateLocal health board providerLocal health board of residenceSource of referralSpecialty
1,554,221Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsAll specialties
73Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsAccident & Emergency
70,690Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsAdult Mental Illness
5,352Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsAllied Health Professional Services
14,349Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsAnaesthetics
765Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsAudiological Medicine
87Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsAudiology
82,339Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsCardiology
3,931Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsCardiothoracic Surgery
2,424Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsChemical Pathology
26,822Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsChild & Adolescent Psychiatry
153Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsClinical Genetics
28,325Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsClinical Haematology
1,134Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsClinical Immunology And Allergy
3,533Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsClinical Neurophysiology
10,753Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsClinical Oncology
642Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsClinical Pharmacology
1,993Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsClinical Physiology
140Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsClinical Psychology
5,419Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsDementia Assessment Service
1,438Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsDental Medicine Specialties
101,306Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsDermatology
79,818Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsEar, Nose and Throat
1Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsEating Disorders Service
19,542Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsEndocrinology
272Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsForensic Psychiatry
63,372Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsGastroenterology
39,333Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsGeneral Medicine
146,011Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsGeneral Surgery
17,564Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsGeriatric Medicine
101,719Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsGynaecology
275Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsInfectious Diseases
1,962Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsLearning Disability
2Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsMaxillofacial Surgery
2,695Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsMedical Oncology
52Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsMedical Opthalmology
13Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsMedical Virology
17,523Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsMidwifery
9,742Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsNephrology
26,534Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsNeurology
2,079Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsNeurosurgery
17,039Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsObstetrics
18,451Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsOld Age Psychiatry
122,373Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsOphthalmology
1,404Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsOptometry
40,323Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsOral Surgery
4,508Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsOrthodontics
199Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsOrthoptics
1,517Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsPaediatric Dentistry
72Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsPaediatric Diabetic Medicine
672Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsPaediatric Epilepsy
4Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsPaediatric Gastroenterology
41Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsPaediatric Inherited Metabolic Medicine
797Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsPaediatric Neurology
1Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsPaediatric Plastic Surgery
3Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsPaediatric Rheumatology Service
1,444Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsPaediatric Surgery
50,493Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsPaediatrics
12,181Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsPain Management
3,772Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsPalliative Medicine
12,478Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsPlastic Surgery
89Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsPodiatric Surgery
4,037Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsPsychotherapy
6,316Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsRadiology
47,272Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsRehabilitation
44,401Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsRespiratory Medicine
5,409Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsRespiratory Physiology
3,359Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsRestorative Dentistry
32,256Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsRheumatology
165,549Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsTrauma & Orthopaedics
67,584Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesAll referralsUrology
916,053Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsAll specialties
9Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsAccident & Emergency
34,894Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsAdult Mental Illness
471Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsAllied Health Professional Services
2,705Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsAnaesthetics
764Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsAudiological Medicine
1Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsAudiology
52,321Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsCardiology
469Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsCardiothoracic Surgery
1,975Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsChemical Pathology
10,375Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsChild & Adolescent Psychiatry
79Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsClinical Genetics
20,617Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsClinical Haematology
924Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsClinical Immunology And Allergy
102Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsClinical Neurophysiology
128Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsClinical Oncology
515Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsClinical Pharmacology
282Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsClinical Physiology
35Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsClinical Psychology
2,369Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsDementia Assessment Service
1,103Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsDental Medicine Specialties
89,538Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsDermatology
56,431Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsEar, Nose and Throat
12,762Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsEndocrinology
2Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsForensic Psychiatry
48,881Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsGastroenterology
18,857Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsGeneral Medicine
115,462Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsGeneral Surgery
9,450Total outpatient referrals2025WalesAll residencesGP referralsGeriatric Medicine
Showing 1 to 100 of 977,135 rows
Page 1 of 9772

Next update expected:19 February 2026

Updates

22nd January 2026

New month added and revisions applied to previous data where applicable.

18th December 2025

New month added and revisions applied to previous data where applicable.

21st November 2025
23rd October 2025
Dataset first published.

Main information

Designation
Accredited official statistics
Data provider
Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW)
Data source
Outpatient Referral Dataset (OPR)

Overview

Summary of dataset and variables

This table provides the total outpatient referrals made each month.

‘GP referrals’ cover both referrals from General Medical Practitioners and General Dental Practitioners.

Resubmissions of the Referrals data in the Outpatient Referrals Dataset (OPR DS) occur each month. As a result, data in the release and Stats Wales is revised to reflect this. Please see the latest release for the impact of the revisions.

Data collection or calculation

Please find this information in the related statistical release, as per the given weblink.

New treatment function codes were introduced in April 2016 but were not used consistently across all Local Health Boards initially; 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 treatment function codes were removed temporarily and treatment functions were recorded under the more general headings until consistent recording of the treatment functions was confirmed across all Local Health Boards. This was actioned back to April 2016.

The new treatment function codes which were announced in April 2016 have not been used consistently by health boards, so to date, any data submitted for a new code has been recoded to the pre-April 2016 codes. However, from June 2019 some health boards have submitted data for the new Respiratory Physiology treatment function code, which will be published to reflect the current pilot period for reporting sleep disordered breathing service. Note that while this data is being published to support this pilot, the data is still not being consistently reported by health boards so caution is advised when using this data.

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 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. For more information, refer to the statement from the Minister for Health and Social Services (see ‘Related Reports’).

Referrals for Audiology were reported from May 2022 onwards.

Referrals for Dementia Assessment Service were reported from August 2022 onwards.

Referrals for Podiatric Surgery were reported from April 2023 onwards.

Referrals for Optometry were reported from October 2023 onwards.

Referrals for Paediatric Epilepsy were reported from November 2023 onwards.

Referrals for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Paediatric Dermatology, and Paediatric Diabetic Medicine were reported from December 2023 onwards.

Referrals for Eating Disorder Service were reported from August 2025 onwards.

Statistical quality

Please find this information in the related statistical release, as per the given weblink.

Please note that the data included in this dataset covers a time period during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which affected both how some NHS services were offered as well as people's choices regarding health services. See the latest release for more information.

From April 2016, there has been a change in the treatment function codes submitted by the local health boards; this includes the cessation of the nursing treatment function. Whilst the other changes are likely to result in movements between different codes, the nursing treatment function affects Cwm Taf University LHB in particular as it was the only health board to submit a large number of referrals for that code (around 2,000 in March 2016, the last month when data was submitted).

‘Clinical Neurophysiology’ was previously known as 'Obstetrics (for patients using a bed)'. Prior to April 2016, some outpatient referrals were incorrectly recorded under this treatment function. In other instances, the definition of 'patients using a bed' may have been misinterpreted.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cwm Taf Morgannwg set up a new service code to capture antibody testing and research. This resulted in a rise in the number of referrals for infectious diseases in July 2020.

Hywel Dda did not submit any data for mental health treatment codes from August 2020 due to the Mental Health Migration project. In the months following the pandemic, this accounted for between 90 to 180 referrals, but before the pandemic, this would have accounted for around 240 referrals a month.

Related reports

Published by

Organisation
Welsh Government
Contact email
stats.healthinfo@gov.wales

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