WALES — Amy-Jane Davies, a 30-year-old from south Wales, has waited 21 months for a laparoscopic gynaecological procedure on the NHS and is among 46,289 people on a gynaecology waiting list in Wales. Davies, who was diagnosed with endometriosis in 2018, is one of 713,048 people awaiting any form of NHS treatment in the country and is currently on six NHS waiting lists.

Davies has cysts on her ovaries and has been referred to specialists for her bowel, bladder and migraines, as well as for an ultrasound and an MRI. She has reduced her work hours because of her symptoms and has decided not to become a mother because of her condition.

"You're constantly chasing them. It's taking over a bit, if I'm honest, and it's really no good for my mental health," Davies said.

In 2021, Davies paid £4,000 for private surgery with help from her mother and grandmother. That procedure removed endometriosis from her uterus, womb and bladder, and also discovered endometriosis on her bowel requiring additional specialist surgeons. Her health board told her she must be referred to one of the two accredited endometriosis surgical centres in Wales, subject to a laparoscopy. Her gynaecologist quoted a minimum cost of £15,000 for the combined specialist surgery.

"I'm a single homeowner, there's no way I could afford something at that price," Davies said. "It just feels really cruel that I could be putting myself into debt, when in a year or two all my symptoms could just come straight back."

Gynaecology waiting lists in Wales grew to between eight and ten years during the Covid pandemic. Numbers peaked at 56,069 in August 2025 and fell to 46,289 in January, a level that has remained for five years and is higher than pre-Covid figures. Wales has the second highest rate of people waiting for gynaecology treatment per head of population in the UK, after Northern Ireland.

Alison Wright, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said workforce burnout and access to theatre time are factors affecting gynaecological surgery availability. "We are still on a regular basis, unfortunately, having to have battles to have gynaecological theatres across the UK," Wright said. "We would really like to see women's health prioritised."

"For women it affects their work, their lives – looking after children or dependents and it means that their condition potentially gets worse. They may have blood transfusions or other treatments while they're waiting," she said.

The Welsh government previously said waiting lists in Wales had fallen for eight consecutive months. Ahead of the Senedd election scheduled for 7 May, the Green Party described NHS waiting times as "appalling" and said it would deliver a coherent package of reforms. "We will make additional investments in primary care, making it easier for people to see a GP or other health worker so their physical and mental health issues can be addressed earlier before they develop into crisis requiring hospital care," the party said.