Health Secretary is today (Thursday
24th October) announcing £28m to help the NHS cut the
longest waiting times.
The funding will pay for more evening and weekend appointments
and regional working to target waiting times in specialties such
as orthopaedics, ophthalmology, general surgery and gynaecology.
Health boards will also free-up outpatient appointments for new
patients to be seen by reducing the number of automatic
follow-ups in cases where they are not needed.
These interventions will cut the number of people waiting more
than two years for treatment, waiting times for a first
outpatient appointment and ensure more people receive diagnostic
tests in eight weeks.
Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care said:
“Reducing waiting times is a national priority – for people
across Wales, for us and the NHS. This new funding will be used
by health boards to deliver a range of schemes that will start
almost immediately.
“They will target the longest waits in orthopaedics, general
surgery, ophthalmology and gynaecology by increasing capacity for
more people to be seen and treated through overtime and more
regional working.
“The NHS is working very hard to reduce the backlog, which built
up during the pandemic – this is additional funding, over and
above the recovery money we make available every year, to support
the NHS to cut the longest waits and improve access to planned
care.”
The Health Secretary is announcing the funding during a visit to
Nevill Hall Hospital, in Abergavenny, where he will meet Aneurin
Bevan University Health Board's teams working on ophthalmology
and endoscopy waiting lists.
The Llanwenarth suite, which will become a regional centre for
cataracts, was one of the plans put forward by health boards to
tackle long waits.
Nicola Prygodzicz, CEO of Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
said. - "We are incredibly grateful to the Welsh Government for
this significant investment, which will make a real difference in
reducing waiting times for patients across Gwent.
“We are committed to using the additional resources effectively
to address the longest waits, particularly in high-demand areas
such as orthopaedics and ophthalmology
“This investment supports our continued efforts to provide
timely, high-quality care for our communities."
