There are currently around 600,000 people on NHS waiting lists in Wales. More than 5,000 patients in Wales are waiting more than two years for treatment, compared with fewer than 200 in England.
We have a costed, targeted and expert-led plan to cut waiting lists, and bring these numbers down.
We will:
- Hire up to 100 additional salaried GPs, with a focus on improving access to out-of-hours care – alleviating pressure on services in our hospitals and particularly A&E departments.
- Invest in digitisation and telehealth services, to further increase access to GP and related health services through remote and online appointments.
- Implement recommendations from the Royal College of Surgeons to deliver 10 new surgical hubs. These will be dedicated to providing high volume treatment in specialisms where patients are experiencing some of the longest waits, including ophthalmology, orthopaedics and general surgery.
- Tackle corridor care by increasing the number of beds on Welsh hospital wards, after successive years of reductions.
- End the postcode lottery in healthcare by improving how care is planned and delivered across the NHS in Wales – including by legislating to embed collaboration between health boards, so that patients’ timely access to particular treatments is guaranteed, and the availability, reliability and quality of the care they receive is the same wherever they live.
- Deliver against and work to strengthen the NHS Wales Women’s Health Plan – reducing delayed diagnosis and late treatment for women and girls in areas like cancer, diabetes and mental health, as well as conditions which mainly affect women such as endometriosis and menopause.