Clearing NHS Covid backlog in Wales could take seven years

It may take seven years to get NHS Wales waiting lists of 700,000 back to 2020 levels, Wales' auditor general has said.

The number of patients waiting for non-urgent treatment has doubled since February 2020, just prior to the Covid pandemic.

They include Patient Michael Assender, 74, who has spent two years on a waiting list with severe back pain. After struggling with his back, Mr Assender, from Cwmbran, Torfaen, paid £1,500 for a private scan, which revealed he had two slipped discs.

"At the moment I'm coping pretty well, taking pills for the pain and trying to stay active," he said. "But something that took me half hour before now takes an hour."

Mr Assender said he knew others waiting for surgery who had become depressed and considered taking their lives, adding: "A lot of people out there are in a constant pain and I do pity them."

"It's a dire situation really."

The Welsh government said it had a plan to deal with backlogs.

But Wales' Auditor General Adrian Crompton said: "Just as the NHS rose to the challenge of the pandemic, it will need to rise to the challenge of tackling a waiting list which has grown to huge proportions."

"Concerted action is going to be needed on many different fronts, and some long-standing challenges will need to be overcome."

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Source: BBC News, 31 May 2022