- £100m to help reduce NHS waiting list and waiting times. £25m
for new surgical and diagnostic hubs. £20m for essential
maintenance across the NHS estate.
- New figures show waiting list and waiting times went up in
April, before the new Welsh Government was in place. Health
Minister says plan to achieve lasting reductions.
- Change in the way the NHS works is needed - making sure
patients move through the system more smoothly, from their first
referral all the way to treatment
The significant funding from the Welsh Government's supplementary
budget will be key in tackling the NHS waiting list and waiting
times, Health and Care Minister has said.
£100m will support the NHS to bring down the waiting list and
waiting times and £25m is being invested in new surgical and
diagnostic hubs. A further £20m is being invested into essential
maintenance across the NHS estate.
Latest NHS statistics published today show that in April - before
the new Welsh Government took office - both the waiting list for
NHS treatment and the longest waits increased.
There were just over 680,000 patient pathways waiting to start
treatment in April and slightly under 3,700 pathways were waiting
more than two years. There were 12,900 pathways waiting longer
than one year for their first outpatient appointment.
The average time patients had been waiting for treatment at the
end of April was just under 15 weeks, the lowest figure since
March 2020.
The ambulance response time target threshold for the purple
category - people experiencing a cardiac or respiratory arrest
who need an ambulance immediately - was achieved but performance
at emergency departments declined.
Health and Care Minister said: "Today's statistics
show again there are too many people waiting too long for
treatment. I am also disappointed that emergency care performance
is not yet at the level patients and staff rightly expect, and we
are clear that faster improvement is required from health boards
and partners.
Our focus is clear - cut waiting times, prioritise those who have
been waiting the longest, improve access to services and build an
NHS that can keep up with demand in the long term.
Funding provided by the previous Welsh Government for waiting
lists was strictly time-limited up until March, and was based on
purchasing additional and external activity, rather than having
been invested in strengthening long-term elective care capacity.
To bring waiting times down and keep them down, we need to change
the way the NHS works - making sure patients move through the
system more smoothly, from their first referral all the way to
treatment.
We've got a plan to do this, working with the fantastic NHS staff
right across Wales. The £145 million we're announcing today will
be important in tackling the waiting list and waiting times and
helping people be seen quicker.
