NHS waiting times show Labour “utterly failing” to manage health service in Wales – Plaid

The Labour run Welsh Government is “utterly failing” to manage the NHS in Wales, Plaid Cymru has said, as new statistics show targets have been missed yet again.

Plaid Cymru’s health and social care spokesperson Rhun ap Iorwerth said that despite revised targets and “repeated assertions from the health minister that the targets were achievable”, the government was still failing to reach key targets in waiting, treatment and diagnostic times.

New statistics published today show that the first target to tackle the NHS backlog after the Covid pandemic has been missed.

Almost 75,000 people are waiting a year or more for an outpatient appointment when there should be none.

The Welsh government said it was “disappointed that this ambitious target… has not been met”.

Further statistics show that fewer people started their first cancer treatment in December than the previous month and the number given the all-clear also fell.

Performance against the 62-day targets also fell to the second lowest on record – 52.9%.

Mr ap Iorwerth said the NHS “drastically” needed new and innovative thinking to change the current trajectory.

Plaid Cymru spokesperson for health and care, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS said:

“That our NHS is in crisis is clear from the long waiting times, the increasing number of vacancies and seeing just how many of the remaining staff have taken to picket lines.

“With the latest waiting time figures released today, it demonstrates that the Welsh Government is utterly failing to manage the health service, even against their own revised targets, and even despite repeated assertions from the Health Minister that the targets were achievable.

“When will the Health Minister admit that doing the same thing and ‘hoping’ for different results, does not result in an improved outcome for patients? Our NHS drastically needs new and innovative thinking to change the current trajectory that it’s on, and it’s clear that Labour Welsh Government is out of ideas.”

Plaid Cymru’s spokesperson for health and care, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS added,

“Wales urgently needs a Cancer action plan to deal specifically with the need for early diagnosis and rapid treatment, and the wider need for patients to be supported throughout the system.