This is a tribute to the hard work of the health service who have succeeded in ensuring this target is met

Jane Hutt, Assembly Health Minister

The figures, which report waiting times at the end of March 2002, mean the Welsh Assembly has met the target it set last year.

The fall is in line with a general reduction in waiting times in Wales.

The latest figures show there are still 8,514 people in Wales who have been waiting more than a year for in-treatment, but this is a fall of 185 since December.

Assembly Health Minister Jane Hutt praised the work of the NHS in to helping achieve the goal.

"This is a tribute to the hard work of the health service who have succeeded in ensuring this target is met, while also dealing with the increased pressures of winter," she said.

However, she said there was still much more to be done.

Assembly Health Minister Jane Hutt

"I want more people to be treated quicker. We all know there are unacceptable waits and our aim is to tackle these," she said.

"Today's progress shows that our strategy of reducing waiting times for cardiac surgery has paid off."

Ms Hutt said the �1.8 billion made available to the Welsh NHS at last week's budget will help to achieve this.

"This will allow even more opportunities to continue our drive to improve both the health service and the health of the people of Wales," she said.

The figures also saw a 25% fall in orthopaedic patients waiting more than 18 months, with the latest figures at 1,408.

Cataract surgery waiting times fell, with those waiting more than 6 months down from 400 to 285, and those waiting more than 4 months down from 887 to 736.

There has been a slight rise of 0.6% in the number of people waiting for a first out-patient appointment.