NEW figures released by the Welsh Government have shown that 76 Cardiff and Vale patients waited for treatment in an Accident and Emergency (A&E) unit for more than 12 hours during February.

That figure on an all-Wales basis was 2,202 – compared to just 161 over the same period in the whole of England.

In February 2015, 85.7 per cent of Cardiff and Vale patients were admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours. That figure was a slight improvement on the 82.6 per cent in January, partly as a result of a mild February, but remained well short of the Welsh Government’s target of 95 per cent - which has not been met since Carwyn Jones became First Minister in 2009.

Welsh Conservative South Wales Central AM, Andrew RT Davies, said:

“These figures are a slight improvement on the preceding month, but you would expect that as the weather gets warmer. Sadly, we are still some distance away from hitting the Welsh Government’s own target of 95 per cent patients to be seen within four hours.

“Here in the Vale, just 85.7 per cent of patients are being seen within four hours and that’s just not good enough. Worse still, far too many patients are being abandoned for more than twelve hours waiting for treatment.

“Despite the tireless efforts of frontline staff, waiting times remain poor, and these figures show the impact of Labour’s record-breaking budget cuts on the Welsh NHS.”