CUTTING NHS WAITING LISTS

Long waiting lists for the NHS in Wales have become a big problem, with over 600,000 people waiting for treatment. Many have to wait more than a year, and things are only getting worse. Plaid Cymru has a five-point plan to help fix this issue and make sure people get the care they need.

1. Local Treatment Centres (to get people on waiting lists treated faster)

Emergency care often takes resources away from planned treatments, causing long waits. Plaid Cymru would set up temporary treatment centre in existing hospitals, each focused on a specific type of care. By reorganising staff and using underused hospital spaces, we could reduce waiting lists by up to 30% without needing new buildings or extra staff.

 

2. Speed Up Referrals

The referral process in Wales' NHS is slow and inefficient, partly due to a shortage of GPs. Plaid Cymru plans to address this by creating a special team to   speed up referrals and quickly match patients with the right doctors. This would remove unnecessary cases from waiting lists, and support doctors with weekend approvals to free up space. This could clear up to 60% of backlogs in some areas, like dermatology.

 

3. Make Health Boards Work Together

We’ll make sure hospitals share resources and work as a team so patients can be treated faster, no matter where they live. Wales' health boards aren't working together as well as they should, leading to poor coordination and wasted resources. Plaid Cymru would introduce emergency laws to make health boards work together better and share resources more effectively.

 

4. Better Waiting List Planning

Plaid Cymru plans to improve how waiting lists are managed by setting staffing levels before treatments are planned, based on successful models like those in Aneurin Bevan. We’ll create national guidelines for managing waiting lists and use a team-based approach for patient assessments, such as whole-body check-ups by GPs to spot conditions early.

 

5. Use Technology to Help Patients

Plaid Cymru plans to use technology to improve care for patients on waiting lists. Many don’t need surgery but need better support to manage their conditions. We’ll use digital tools to help patients track and manage their care, and allow doctors to monitor them remotely. The Executive Triage Service will help sort through waiting lists and make sure resources are used efficiently, providing faster care and reducing unnecessary delays. This will create a support layer between GPs and specialists, filling a gap in current care.

A FIRST MINISTER FAILING WALES

The State of NHS shows Eluned Morgan “failing” as First Minister of Wales – Plaid Cymru  2025 will be “crucial year” as Plaid highlights its vision for leading Wales – Plaid Cymru Leader Rhun ap Iorwerth

 

The state of the NHS shows that Eluned Morgan is “failing” as First Minister of Wales, Plaid Cymru has said.

 

Speaking at the start of the new Senedd term, Plaid Cymru Leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said 2025 would be a “crucial” year for Wales ahead of the Senedd elections next year.

 

The Plaid Cymru Leader said that Plaid Cymru would, over the next term, publish further details on its vision for leading Wales – beginning with a plan to bring NHS waiting times down.

 

The party will outline further details on its vision for government over next few months.

 

Mr ap Iorwerth strongly criticised the record of the Labour First Minister, formerly the Health Minister, on missed NHS targets and said that the government had failed to deliver the changes needed to fix the NHS in Wales.

 

Waiting times hit another record high late last year with over 800,000 hospital patient pathways.

 

The party’s health spokesperson Mabon ap Gwynfor previously announced plans to reform the way the NHS is run in November last year – proposals that were well received by stakeholders.

 

Plaid Cymru Leader Rhun ap Iorwerth MS said,

 

“The new year brings opportunities, but Wales is facing the same old challenges: wages not keeping up with bills, public services struggling, HS2 billions still missing, and an NHS, despite the best efforts of staff, overstretched and at capacity.

 

“A quarter of patients are currently waiting over eight hours in A&E, hospital waiting lists have topped 800,000, ambulance services are in crisis, and GP surgeries are closing. This is unacceptable.

 

“As Health minister, Eluned Morgan promised no patient would wait over 12 months for treatment by spring—a promise already broken by virtue of the fact she’s set a new target of bringing two year waits down to 8,000 by April – and based on December’s numbers even those figures are going in the wrong direction.

 

“No matter how many times this Labour government tries to reincarnate itself as being a government of delivery, it continues to fail the NHS workforce and its patients.

 

“This is a failure of delivery by a failing First Minister.

 

“2025 will be a crucial year for Wales. This year can be the beginning of the fresh start that Wales needs – with Plaid Cymru at the helm.

 

“We don’t believe this is as good as it gets. Over the next months, we will give further detail on our ambitious offer of change to the people of Wales: better public services, an improved NHS, an economy that creates good jobs, and a government that will be unrelenting in fighting for fairness for our communities.

 

“To those who want to see Wales put first, who feel let down by Labour, and are looking for an alternative to division, look to Plaid Cymru at next year’s Senedd elections.

 

“Together, we can build a fairer, more hopeful Wales and deliver the future we deserve.”

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