PLAID CYMRU RESPONDS TO LATEST NHS WAITING TIMES IN WALES 

NHS still recovering from COVID and in desperate need of a recovery action plan

Plaid Cymru has responded to the publication of the latest NHS waiting times in Wales that were published today (Thursday 21 April, 2022).

The party has called for leadership from the top in order to address the pressures on the NHS, which in some cases are 12 times higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rhun ap Iorwerth MS, Plaid Cymru’s spokesperson for Health and Care said:

“This is another immensely worrying set of figures, with pressure on the NHS remaining critical. Frontline staff continue to work flat out, but leadership needs to come from the top and that’s why we need to see the Welsh Government’s plan to reduce waiting times in all sectors of care, treatment and diagnostics as a matter of urgency.

“Any slight improvement in waiting times is to be welcomed, but almost 44,000 patients were still waiting longer than the target time for diagnostics, which is twelve times greater than before the pandemic.

“Recovering from Covid and reducing these waiting lists is an enormous mountain to climb. A recovery plan must have a clear focus on prevention, not just patient through-put. Publication of the plan has been pushed back several times, but cannot be delayed further.

“We also need a Cancer action plan to deal specifically with diagnosis and treatment. A year has passed since the Quality Statement but there’s still no implementation plan.”