New thinking needed on NHS in Wales following “significant” missed target

Inability to manage to own targets raises “serious questions” about “Labour’s credibility” in terms of running NHS

The latest NHS figures show that at the end of March 2023, 31,700 patients pathways were waiting more than two years, falling around 5,000 from the previous month.

This is significant because Welsh Government had set a target that no-one would be waiting for more than 2 years as at the end of March 2023.

This now the second of their new targets, created to help reduce waiting times, that Welsh Government has failed to meet.

When Plaid Cymru has challenged the Health Minister in the past – when it looked likely that Welsh Government would miss those targets – the Health Minister Eluned Morgan said they “do expect to deliver against performance targets in terms of appointments.”

At the start of the year, Plaid Cymru published its five point plan to help tackle the crisis in the NHS, but this was voted down by Labour.

Responding to the latest NHS waiting times, Plaid Cymru spokesperson for health and care, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS said:

“Now we’re into spring, it’s clear that we’re no longer talking about seasonal pressures – we’re talking about a deep rooted inability to get to grips with the grid-lock in our NHS.

“With more and more people being added to waiting lists every day, and a desperately overloaded social care sector unable to cope with step down care needs, we can’t speed the flow of patients through the system until that is addressed. In the meantime, our hard working health and care staff are working around the clock to keep things moving. With no other option, thousands have taken industrial action against the Welsh Government over pay and working conditions – with four new dates recently announced by the Royal College of Nursing.

“Welsh Government’s inability to improve waiting times sufficiently for patients – missing their own targets in the process, and even showing apparent denial that they weren’t on course to meet them – raises serious questions about Labour’s credibility in terms of running the health service. I don’t think it’s impossible for us to put together a vision and to deliver on that vision in a way that delivers better healthcare than we currently see being delivered here in Wales today. But when Labour can’t manage to their own targets, it’s hard to have any confidence in their ability to fix these issues.”