Montgomeryshire MS Russell George has criticised what he describes as a “false statement’’ made by the Welsh Government about NHS waiting times for Powys patients.

In a statement issued by the Welsh Government on 22 May, the Cabinet Secretary for Health Jeremy Miles MS praised Powys Teaching Health Board alongside Swansea Bay and Hywel Dda, as having “no patients waiting more than a year for a first outpatient appointment or two years for treatment.”

Mr George said the Welsh Governments statement “does not reflect the reality for many Powys patients and demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of how healthcare services are delivered for residents of the county.”

The Senedd Member said that many Powys residents are still waiting more than two years for treatment in hospitals in neighbouring counties, where services for Powys residents are routinely delivered.

Mr George also raised the alarm over an upcoming change in cross-border commissioning that will affect waiting times even further.

The Montgomeryshire MS has previously called for better transparency in Welsh NHS data and improved accountability when it comes to the experience of Powys patients, who often fall between the cracks of cross-border commissioning arrangements.

He said that he will seek to raise this in the Senedd with the First Minister.

Mr George said: "The Welsh Government are claiming success in reducing waiting times and also make the claim that no Powys patients are waiting more than two years for treatment.

“This is simply not true.

"The comments from the Cabinet Secretary for Health, just reinforces his lack of understating about health services for Powys patients.

“Of course, the rate for people waiting for treatment within Powys is Zero, because they can't be treated within the county.

“Powys does not have a District General Hospital, and Powys Health Board is a commissioning organisation that relies on neighbouring hospitals to deliver care for Powys patients.

"There are many Powys patients who are still waiting for over two years for treatment in Hospitals just over the border, and the Welsh Government should correct their false statement

"Further, we also know that Powys Patients are going to have to wait even longer for treatment from July, because the Welsh Government will not fund Powys Teaching Health Board to meet English waiting time targets for Powys residents referred across the border."

The Welsh Government statement came after news that the First Minister’s target to reduce waiting lists has been missed.

The First Minister’s revised target to bring two-year waits down to 8,000 by spring 2025, a target that was only set after the Welsh Government missed its original goal of eliminating two-year waits entirely by March 2023, was missed, new figures revealed.

The latest figures show by the end of March, waiting times of more than two years have fallen to just under 8,400 – the lowest level since April 2021, with the overall size of the waiting list falling for the fourth month in a row alongside falls in long waits for outpatient appointments and diagnostic treatments.