THE AVERAGE wait times for routine surgery throughout north Wales are “unacceptable”, according to an MS.

Llyr Gruffydd, who represents the region in the Senedd, has spoken out after recently released figures revealed that the area has some of the worst average wait times in Wales.

The Plaid Cymru Senedd member hit out at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB), saying that constituents are “paying the price” for the “chaos and dysfunction” at the organisation.

A local breakdown of Digital Health and Care Wales figures for 2021-22 show the average wait time for routine surgery for Wrexham is 143.1 days - the second worst in the country.

The only part of Wales with a worse wait time is Swansea with an average of 151.8 days.

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Meanwhile, Flintshire is the county that has the shortest average wait time in North Wales at 118.3 days.

However, this figure is still higher than the average wait time for Wales as a whole, at 116.5 days.

The Digital Health and Care Wales figures also included statistics for individual procedures.

They show that for tonsil operations, the longest waits are in north Wales, topped by Wrexham (451 days on average) and Denbighshire (448 days).

Llyr Gruffydd MS said: “Recent figures from Digital Health and Care Wales show that the average wait times for routine surgery in North Wales are far too long.

“Residents in the region are having to wait much longer than people in other parts of Wales to get the treatment they need, and this is clearly unacceptable.

“The chaos and dysfunction that has plagued Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board is obviously having an impact on patient care and it’s ordinary people who are paying the price as they suffer long waits for routine procedures.

“While people wait to get the treatment they need, their health and wellbeing is likely to get worse. This not only creates needless suffering for those individuals, but it ends up costing the NHS more money in the long run.

“By not treating people early, the health board is storing up even bigger problems for the future.

“It’s clear that the people of North Wales are being badly let down because they’re not getting the health services they deserve.

Dr Nick Lyons, Executive Medical Director at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said: “We apologise for the time patients have waited and we are doing everything we can to provide treatment as quickly as possible in order of clinical priority.

"However, it will take a significant amount of time to get our waiting lists down to pre-COVID levels and unfortunately, many patients will sadly continue to face long waits for treatment.

“We are looking to further use the capacity at Abergele Hospital as well as carrying out more day case procedures and minor treatments in our outpatient departments. We expect this to lead to a significant increase in the number of patients that can be treated each day.

“We are also exploring other sites for additional capacity in the longer term, which will protect our ring-fenced orthopaedic wards during winter pressures when emergency admissions rise and space is at a premium in our three main hospitals.”