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.”
