Welsh patients are having to wait longer than English patients for surgery

Welsh orthopaedic patients getting treatment in England may have to wait longer for their operations than patients who are attending the same hospital, but who have addresses in England.

Different waiting list targets set in London and Cardiff mean that the maximum waiting times for English and Welsh patients are different. In Wales, the target is that no one should wait more than 18 months for an orthopaedic operation. In England the target is currently 15 months and will drop to 12 months in March.

“Wales has different targets to England. Each sets a target that it can afford. The problem for us is that we deal with English and …