HOSPITALS in Gwent are taking the first steps toward meeting new all-in waiting time targets, having reached the latest treatment and outpatients milestones.

By March 31, no-one in Gwent waited more than 22 weeks for treatment or a first outpatient appointment - in line with Assembly targets.

But health bosses already have their sights on the next target, which places a 32-week limit on waiting from the date of referral to the date of treatment and includes outpatient appointments and diagnostic tests. As usual, the weeks preceding the target deadline saw increased activity in hospitals across Wales.

In March, more than 500 Gwent patients who would otherwise have been waiting more than 22 weeks after March 31 received the treatments they needed, and almost 1,600 who would otherwise have been waiting more than 22 weeks for a first outpatient appointment were seen by a consultant.

The 32-week limit, known as the RTT (referral to treatment time), must be met by NHS trusts in Wales by March 31 next year, on the way to achieving 26-week maximum RTTs by the end of December 2009.

That is the ultimate target, set by the Assembly, to which the NHS in Wales has been working for three years. Even then, it would be behind the target for English hospitals, which are aiming for a maximum RTT of 18 weeks by December this year.

The achievement of each waiting times target involves treating or seeing more patients, and in Gwent there are capacity problems in some specialities.

More than 2,000 extra orthopaedic patients required treatment last year, compared to 2006/07, in order to reach the 22-week target, and a similar increase is likely this year.

Despite having the extra surgery and bed capacity at the St Woolos Hospital orthopaedic unit, some patients will be offered treatment outside Gwent, or in the private sector, paid for by the NHS.