WAITING times of more than eight weeks for diagnostic tests fell sharply in Gwent during February, according to the latest figures.

And waits of more than 14 weeks for therapies to begin also fell that month, with a key factor behind both reductions being extra investment into the NHS in Wales to focus on cutting long waiting times.

Diagnostic and therapy waiting times are not subject to formal targets, the maximum time a patient should wait being referred to as an operational standard.

For diagnostics, such as endoscopic investigations, cardiology and radiology (including X-rays, MRI, and CT scans) the maximum wait under the standards is eight weeks, and for therapies, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, and podiatry, it is 14 weeks.

Minimising the number of patients waiting longer however, is vital if overall referral-to-treatment time targets – a minimum 95 per cent of patients should begin definitive treatment inside a maximum 26 weeks – are to be met. For diagnostics overall, the number of Gwent patients waiting eight to 14 weeks fell by more than a quarter (27 per cent) during February, to 2,377.

The majority of this reduction was down to a focus on radiology waiting lists. Waits of eight to 14 weeks for MRI, CT scans and other radiological procedures, ordered by either a consultant or a patients’ GP, fell by more than 850 during the month.

Among the reasons behind the reduction were the use of a mobile MRI scanner to provide extra capacity, and weekend CT scanning sessions. There has also been a push to increase non-obstetric ultrasound.

Reductions have also been achieved in the numbers of patients waiting 14-24 weeks, and more than 24 weeks, for diagnostic tests, though there remained several hundred in these categories by the end of February.

Therapy waits of eight-14 weeks fell by almost a quarter in Gwent during February, to 2,089, easing the pressure slightly in terms of the number of cases approaching the 14-week maximum standard.

Waits of 14-24 weeks for the start of a therapy also fell by more than fifth, to 563, the majority of this reduction was in physiotherapy, with the end-of-February figure of 469 for that speciality being the lowest since July 2015.