NHS waiting list in Wales: Patients turn to surgery abroad

Several patients awaiting treatment on the Welsh NHS have turned to surgery abroad as waiting lists hit record levels again.

One woman who waited for four-and-a-half years for a hip replacement said she spent several years' holiday money to get it done in Lithuania.

Waiting lists hit a record of almost 750,000 in July.

The Welsh government said it had seen improvements, including a decrease in waits of more than two years.

The Conservatives accused Labour ministers of having "little strategy" to tackle "extraordinary waits", while Plaid Cymru called for action "to increase capacity and improve patient flow".

Linda Hackett, 66, from Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, said her wait for a new hip left her unable to "walk anywhere".

"Just the thought of going out just too much effort. It was painful to sit, painful to walk. It was painful to stand.

"I just didn't know what to do with myself," she said.

"We've had to say it's our holiday money for several years," Linda said, after getting the hip replacement just two weeks after booking.

She said she was recovering well, adding "the worst part was getting to Luton and back [for the flight]".

She said she believed the NHS in Wales could save money "in the long run" if it funded private treatment abroad.

Sharon Seymour, 62, from Monmouthshire, also went to Lithuania after being told she faced a "two years plus" wait for a hip replacement.

The Monmouthshire council worker said she also found out about Lithuania from other patients in Wales and had her surgery in July.

She said the fact that people were taking matters into their own hands suggested the health system in Wales was not working.

"[The NHS] does need a huge cash injection... a rethink completely now," she said. "The sadder point is the people who have the ability to pay will get it.

"The inequality between those who can't and that [can is] a sad state of affairs," she added. "It's only through luck that we've managed to find the funds to go to Lithuania.

"For most people, it isn't an option and that's horrible."

The latest monthly figures showed more than 743,000 treatments were waiting to be completed in July, up for the 27th month in a row.

Waits of more than a year also rose to more than 181,000, also the highest on record.

The Welsh government said it had seen improvements, including a decrease in waits of more than two years.

But the treatment waiting list in Wales is now 60% higher than in February 2020, before the Covid-19 pandemic.

There were 69,000 self-funded treatments in the UK in the final three months of last year - a 39% rise from the same period before the pandemic.

Many are opting to travel abroad, attracted by the promise of UK standards of treatment at a lower price.

Eira Greenslade, 72, from Birchgrove, Swansea, was told the wait for a badly needed "bone on bone" knee replacement would be three years in Wales.

The former NHS catering manager said she was "fit as flea" before injuring herself in a fall.

"I said to my husband, 'I think I'd like to go abroad'," she recalled. "I don't want to wait like this. My quality of life, I could hardly walk anywhere. And after being fit it's hard."

She got her knee replacement in Lithuania less than a month before the first Covid lockdown.

Last year she had a letter from her local health board asking if she still wanted the operation.

"Goodness only knows where I'd be [without the surgery in Lithuania]," she said. "I wouldn't be walking. I think I'd be like the others... probably in a wheelchair."

The Welsh government said the latest figures showed the longest waits for treatments - more than two years - fell for the fourth consecutive month.

But more than 60,000 treatments were still incomplete at two years or longer.

"We continue to see improvements and a high number of people receiving treatment, with over 358,000 consultations taking place in the latest month," a government spokesperson said.

Welsh ministers have set a number of targets to try to deal with the growing backlog.

These include eliminating waits for more than two years in most specialities by March 2023, and waits of more than a year in most specialities by spring 2025.

The Welsh government's most immediate goal is that no-one should be waiting more than a year for their first outpatient appointment by the end of this year.

But the figures for July indicate how difficult it will be to meet that - with more than 101,000 having waited more than a year for a first appointment in July.

The Conservatives highlighted improvements to NHS England promised by UK ministers earlier on Thursday, including better access to GPs and same-day appointments for those needing them.

The party's health spokesman Russell George said "patients and NHS staff in Wales deserve a healthcare system at least as good as elsewhere in the UK", accusing Labour ministers of having "little strategy" to tackle "these extraordinary waits".

The Welsh government should "get a grip on the NHS and stop breaking all the wrong records", he added.

Plaid Cymru's Rhun ap Iorwerth called for action "to increase capacity and improve patient flow", but said Labour ministers must "ensure that things are sustainable for the long term".

"That has to include a dramatic change in attitudes - and government funding - towards preventative health measures.

"We need a prevention revolution to help release the pressure on our NHS."