figures ever amid growing concerns on staff pressures ahead of a difficult winter. on staff pressures ahead figures show nearly a quarter of a million people have been waiting more than nine months for treatment, up from about 25,000 at the start of the pandemic. it comes as the welsh government unveils its winter pressures plan. 0wain clarke reports. the other warnings we have heard over many years way before covid even became part of our vocabulary. our top story, patients are told to stay away from hospitals tonight. surgeons warn cancelled operations due to winter pressures are becoming the norm. the winter pressure | on the nhs is biting. but now, with the nhs been battered by three covid waves, with emergency departments and the ambulance service recording their worst ever performance figures, and with waiting lists reaching levels hard to imagine just two years ago, this could well turn out to be the worst of all winters. the boss says the pressure is as intense as he�*s ever experienced. i think that this is the hottest that we have seen the overall system. he is especially worried that a shortage of carers is putting even more pressure on hospitals.