The Welsh Government has responded to the latest NHS performance statistics.
This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government
A Welsh Government spokesperson, said:
“We welcome the continued improvements in reducing the longest waits for treatment and thank NHS staff for their hard work in what was another record month for emergency departments.
“More people attended Welsh emergency departments than any other March on record. More than 70,000 people were seen, treated and admitted or discharged in less than four hours – the highest number for March since 2014.
“There was improved performance in 11 of the 13 emergency departments, with a national improvement of three percentage points against the four-hour target of compared to March last year.
“However, performance remains a concern at a number of sites and we are working with health boards and local authorities to deliver improvements.
“Encouragingly, there was a marked improvement in the number of people waiting longer than the target time for diagnostic tests and therapy services - therapy waits of more than 14 weeks is now at the lowest level for nine years.
“Referral to treatment performance improved by 1.3 percentage points for people waiting less than 26 weeks and there was a marked reduction in the number of people waiting more than 36 weeks (30%) compared with the same time last year.
“Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) performance also improved. We expect to see further progress in reducing waiting times next month.
“Emergency ambulance responsiveness again remained above the national target and response times to both red and amber incidents improved when compared to March 2018.
“We recognise that further work needs to be done and are working with health boards and NHS trusts to achieve this. But the improvements we are seeing are testament to the hard work of NHS Wales staff and the extra investment we are making in the NHS.”