WILLIAM Scarlett's life is ruled by pain - pain from two arthritic hips that have made him, at 62 years old, virtually housebound.

Two hip replacements would improve his quality of life dramatically but Mr Scarlett, like thousands across Wales, faces a long wait.

He is one of more than 19,000 trauma and orthopaedic patients who, by the end of August, had been waiting for more than six months for a first consultation.

That was a rise of 445 on the July figure and despite the assurances from the Assembly that problems in orthopaedics are being addressed, it is set to carry on climbing.

In July, health minister Jane Hutt announced a £12m initiative to tackle orthopaedic treatment waiting lists. The aim is that by the end of next July, no-one in Wales will have been waiting more than a year for orthopaedic surgery.

Waiting times figures for August indicate that progress, albeit minor, is being made is this area. There was a 1.9 per cent reduction in the numbers of people waiting more than a year for treatment in the field of trauma and orthopaedics during August.

But percentages are deceptive. The list actually reduced by just 89 cases, to 4,634, a daunting figure to erase by next summer.

Meanwhile, Mr Scarlett, from Chepstow Road, Newport, may face a further lengthy delay for an outpatient appointment.

"I've been told by the Royal Gwent Hospital that it could be at least another year," said his wife Elizabeth. "He can hardly walk, I have to help him to do everything, and we've bought an electric wheelchair for him to get about indoors.

"We've even moved from a house into a bungalow to make things easier, but what he really needs is two new hips. We can't afford to go private because it would cost around £16,000.

"There's been all this talk about sending people abroad for operations and if the opportunity came up he wouldn't go tomorrow, he'd go tonight.

"He used to be in the building trade and has always been active, and it's terrible to see him like this. Sometimes the pain is so bad he can't get to sleep and I've seen him cry at night because of it."

By the end of August, 9,385 Welsh residents had been waiting more than a year for treatment, a 1.7 per cent rise - 153 cases - since July.

During the same period there was a 4.5 per cent increase - 2,409 cases - across Wales in the number of patients who had waited more than six months for a first outpatient appointment. The figure is now 56,531.

Overall, 203,000 people in Wales, or one in 11 of us, are now awaiting a first outpatient appointment with a consultant.

* In the picture: William Scarlett