New health minister sets out bold plans for NHS Wales

New plans to cut waiting times, recruit more GPs and move care out of hospitals and into communities are being outlined by Wales’ new Health Minister.

A programme of up to ten surgical and diagnostic hubs will be developed over the next four years to increase capacity of the NHS and cut delays.

Two-year waits will be eliminated within months, with the overall backlog reduced to pre-pandemic levels before the end of this Senedd term.

Up to 100 new salaried GPs will be recruited and access to out-of-hours primary care expanded to reduce pressure on hospitals.

Community care will be expanded and discharge planning strengthened, so people spend less time in hospital and more time living well at home.

A ten-year Digital and Data Strategy will modernise NHS infrastructure, and a long-term workforce strategy will be published this autumn.

Due to a shortage of available posts for this year’s nursing, midwifery and paramedic graduates, organisations will be brought together at a summit to consider immediate support and options to prevent similar problems in the future.

Mabon ap Gwynfor, Cabinet Minister for Health and Care, said: "Having to wait years for treatment, with all the pain and anxiety that entails, is an intolerable reality for far too many people in Wales.

"With urgency, decisive action and ambition, we will protect the NHS and build a healthier, fairer Wales — with a health and care system that puts people first and delivers the change our nation needs."

Reform Wales' Shadow Minister for Health, Prevention and Sport, James Evans MS, challenged the Health Minister on the urgent need to deliver meaningful improvements for patients across Wales.

Speaking in the Senedd, Mr Evans highlighted the ongoing pressures facing the Welsh NHS, including lengthy waiting lists, poor emergency care performance, delayed cancer treatment and mounting pressures on NHS staff.

Mr Evans argued that while Ministers continue to talk about renewal, patients are seeing little evidence of improvement on the ground, with emergency departments under severe strain, corridor care becoming increasingly commonplace and cancer performance continuing to lag behind comparable parts of the United Kingdom.

James said: "The NHS in Wales is in crisis. Patients are being failed, staff are being failed and confidence in the system is being eroded.

"Behind every statistic is a person, a family and someone who has waited far too long for treatment. The people of Wales do not need another speech about renewal; they need treatment. They do not need more slogans; they need delivery.

"Warm words from Welsh Government Ministers are not enough. Reform Wales will hold this Plaid Government to account and ensure we see a health service that puts patients first, focuses on outcomes and delivers timely access to care."