Covid: Welsh NHS warns waiting list backlog could take years to clear

Patients have been warned it could take years to clear the backlog of those on NHS waiting lists.

Welsh NHS Confederation director Darren Hughes gave the bleak outlook, saying a return to pre-pandemic levels is unlikely for the foreseeable future.

The group represents the seven local health boards and three NHS trusts, among other health care services.

He said auditors had predicted it could cost up to £300m per year to deal with the backlog.

This is without new cases and this week the worst waiting performances were recorded by Welsh hospital A&E units.

"I think if we look forward, Audit Wales this week has estimated it is going to cost anything between £150m and £300m per year for the foreseeable future to deal with the backlog, created by all the things that we couldn't do during the pandemic, as well as being able to treat people who are getting ill every day," Mr Hughes told Sunday Supplement on BBC Radio Wales.

"Pressure is immense, it's a whole system issue.

"There's the front door that has people arriving with needs of urgent care.

"There are people in hospitals, and a capacity in hospitals is greatly reduced because of all the infection prevention and control measures we're having to use.

"Exactly the same for the ambulance service, it's not like it was pre-Covid. Ambulances needed to be thoroughly disinfected between calls.

"So capacity is actually down - the number of people we can see everyday is down in primary care, in hospitals.

"Things are really tough, and I think we need to be honest with the public, it's going to continue to be tough for the foreseeable future.

"And what I would say to politicians is, we are seeing recognition from the health minister of how serious things are, we're speaking to politicians of all parties... things are going to be incredibly tough, not just the this month, this year, but for a few years to come."

His warning was echoed by Health Minister Eluned Morgan in June when she said it would "probably will take the whole length of this Senedd term [five years] to get us back to pre pandemic levels".

In an interview on Friday, she said: "The system is under huge pressure at the moment. That pressure is worse than anything we have seen at any point in the pandemic.

"And of course we are determined to try and work through the enormous backlog that has been built up during the pandemic.

"But it is very difficult to do that when the pressure on the system is coming at us from so many directions."