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"Significant and timely action" should be taken to reduce waiting times for planned, urgent and emergency care by the North Wales health board, it has been claimed. A Welsh Government report says that Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, which is still in special measures, has the largest and longest waits in Wales. The board was placed in the highest level of intervention, following "significant concerns" over its governance, leadership and performance, in February 2023. Sign up now for the latest news on the North Wales Live Whatsapp community The eighth Welsh Government progress report, which covers July to September 2025, was published on Friday (October 24). It stated that "expected improvements in operational delivery were not yet being realised," although a "considerable number of improvements" had been seen in some areas. It stated: "The special measures improvement plan had set a clear expectation that the overall size of the waiting list and the number of long patient waits for planned care would be substantially reduced, bringing them back to pre-pandemic levels. "It is also expected that the health board will tackle the large number of outstanding outpatient appointments in the most challenged specialities and take action to improve waiting times for urgent and emergency care services." The report did highlight that some services were "leading the way" in many areas across Wales, including renal care at Ysbyty Gwynedd and Ysbyty Alltwen, the ultrasound-guided carpal tunnel release service at Wrexham Maelor Hospital, the first service of its kind in Wales, and the North Wales Cancer Treatment Centre at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd had been being re-designated as a "centre of excellence" for brain tumour research, treatment and care. Improvements had also been seen in radiology systems, hospital teams being shortlisted for the NHS Wales Awards and noted a successful Ysbyty Gwynedd theatres open day. It was also stated that the Welsh Government had invested £9.49 million in cancer equipment at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd and £4.4 million at Colwyn Bay Hospital and Ysbyty Glan Clwyd to replace older x-ray machines with new digital radiology systems, whilst Wrexham Maelor and Ysbyty Gwynedd will receive new fluoroscopy systems and see mammography equipment replaced. The board had also seen changes to its leadership and governance with new members appointed and a quality management system developed. A major change programme, Foundations for the Future had also been designed to align structures, people, systems, processes, culture, and strategy. However, the report noted that "fragility, quality and consistency of service delivery continue to be of real concern across a number of services, including vascular, urology, orthodontics, ophthalmology and dermatology" although "good progress" had been made in some areas, including plastics and oncology. However, BCUHB remained "an outlier" in Wales, in planned and emergency care. "While there has been some progress, greater focus and action is needed to ensure people in north Wales receive timely access to services," the report said. It was noted that the board had received £15.7 million to support improvements in planned care in 2025-26. To date, the board had also reported a year-to-date deficit of £13.6 million at the end of August 2025, including £2.8 million in undelivered savings and £1.8 million for employers’ National Insurance contributions, it said. The report had also concluded there had been some "considerable improvements made across the health board, including leadership, governance, clinical quality, and financial management since the escalation". "However, significant and urgent improvement" was still required to achieve "timely access to planned care and emergency care services". Jeremy Miles, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, said in a written statement that "many changes" had been made by the board over the past two-and-a-half years, and there was "evidence of sustained progress in some parts of the organisation". He said: "It continues to build on the changes and improvements it has made in respect of financial management, planning, corporate governance, quality improvements and renewed patient and stakeholder engagement. "Significant challenges remain in terms of planned care and emergency care performance. "The health board must focus on making urgent and sustainable improvements to waiting times for planned care and to urgent and emergency care. "This must be a priority as it has by far the largest proportion of – and the longest waits – in Wales. "We will continue to provide support and constructive challenge to the health board to ensure it makes the necessary improvements to delivery safe and sustainable services – and timely access to care – for people living in North Wales." Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox
