, Finance Committee
First Supplementary Budget 2026-27: Evidence session
… for capital allocation, is to meet Plaid Cymru's and the Welsh Government's now priority to reduce waiting times in Wales. We know how they affect so many people in Wales and therefore we've committed … use that £100 million revenue allocation to support a two-year delivery plan to reduce the NHS waiting times, and we will move beyond just short-term recovery towards sustained improvement. The plan aims to eliminate two-year …
, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee
Valedictory evidence session with Adrian Crompton, Auditor General for Wales
… have invested the best part of £0.5 billion in measures to try to bring down the longest waiting times. Some of those steps have been successful, but also expensive. They're expensive and unsustainable approaches. For example, greater … lists, but you can't keep on with that as your model. Similarly, you look at out-patient waiting times. Something like 200,000 out-patient appointments were missed. If we could shave a fraction off those numbers …
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
… election campaign, and we're doing it now in Government—that it's not just about bringing down waiting times and saying, 'Phew, right, what next?' This is about making sure that we put the steps in place … now that bring down the waiting times in a way that builds capacity in order to stop the waiting times from increasing again. Now, do I give concrete guarantees? Well, how far do we go in politics? But …
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care: Delivering on our priorities: Reducing waiting times and strengthening primary care
Thank you, Cabinet Minister, for your statement. Of course, I welcome extra funding to drive down waiting times, but I'm concerned that this alone won't be sufficient when we're looking at all of the problems … than two years. Therefore, Minister, are you confident then that this funding strategy will help to drive down waiting times in Betsi Cadwaladr? Because if it's not going to do it there, it's not going …
, Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: A&E department performance data
… the norm now. It is clear this Government have been playing fast and loose with the truth, as waiting times in Labour-run Wales are already exceedingly high across the board, and new figures now suggest that Wales … waiting times are, in fact, the worst in Britain. Minister, it's just another shameful statistic, and you must acknowledge your Government are failing the people of Wales. So, now do the right thing—take ownership of these …
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Thank you very much for your response, First Minister. It's promising to see, despite your response, that waiting times have slowly started to move in the right direction in some ways in the past two months, particularly … against cancer targets. But improvement is very slow in emergency departments, where waiting times are an acute issue in the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. Glan Clwyd Hospital is the worst-performing accident and emergency department for waiting …
, Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Health emergency
… way. The health board does face ongoing challenges, and it recognises that people are frustrated and concerned by waiting times, but Betsi has made real inroads in reducing some of the waiting times for the longest waiters, and … will continue to prioritise reduced waiting times as we move forward. It is also a Welsh Government priority, and £120 million has been allocated to cut waiting times and the overall size of waiting lists. Thank you …
, Petitions Committee
New Petitions
… Minister urging caution over this, because we're in such a health crisis now. Patients are missing cancer waiting times. We had a big, powerful debate yesterday that Reform called on prostate cancer—a huge issue … moment, our focus—the Government's focus and the Minister's focus—needs to be on bringing those waiting times down, making the current structure we've got work. No-one knows what a restructure to one health …
, Plenary
Statement by the First Minister: Programme for Government—Update.
… the front bench. I'd also like to understand how the programme for government is making progress on waiting times, in particular the chronic waiting times we're seeing because of the COVID pandemic where, if you take … young people out of those waiting times, nearly one in four people are on a waiting list now somewhere in Wales. If we're not careful, and if your Government isn't careful, these waiting times could ultimately …
, Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
… Minister for Economy to bring forward a written statement on enterprise zones. In relation to orthopaedic services and waiting times, I think you will have heard both the First Minister and the Minister for Health and Social Services … say that orthopaedic waiting times are not where we want them to be, like other waiting times. Significant additional funding has been given to reducing orthopaedic waiting times—I think it's over £170 million now, recurrently …
, Health and Social Care Committee
Ophthalmology Services in Wales: evidence sessions - Panel 1
… much, Chair, and good morning to you both. I just wanted to talk a little bit about NHS waiting times both for in-patients and out-patients. I'll start on in-patients first. I represent Wrexham, and … take a burden off Wrexham Maelor Hospital—this is what we were discussing at the time—and the waiting times there. You've spoken a bit, Rhianon, about the barriers to not being able to see more patients …
, Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
… them are in Betsi. And I can tell you that despite the First Minister yesterday suggesting that treatment waiting times are improving and large numbers have been removed off this list, I can tell you, I have GPs … constituency who do not believe now the waiting times announced on the website of the Betsi board itself because they are witnessing now where it's saying one figure and then patients are going in saying, 'Well …
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
… The Health and Social Care Committee heard evidence a couple of weeks ago that patients can face different waiting time arrangements depending on which side of the border they are treated, that some are left chasing records, test … unclear accountability when things go wrong? And will your Government commit to publishing regular data on cross-border waiting times, complaints and patient outcomes so that patients don't fall through the gaps …
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care
Thank you, Cabinet Minister. I've heard from my constituents in Sir Fynwy Torfaen of an average wait time of 73 weeks for routine appointments with the head or consultant of orthopaedics, and a 50-week wait for … Wales, so we can start tackling the inequality of access to routine care and take the pressure off waiting times …
, Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: NHS waiting lists
… Plaid Cymru on one of the most important issues for us and for the public, namely cutting waiting times. I look forward, after a week in post, to work with the health service to ensure that it continues … dentist, or even an optician, perhaps. Some will need further treatment in hospital. At the moment, the average waiting time is 22 weeks for planned treatment. Unfortunately, many people wait longer than this, mainly as a result …
, Plenary
Debate on the Health and Social Care Committee Report—'Waiting well? The impact of the waiting times backlog on people in Wales'
… Health and Social Care Committee, I've been moved by the contributions and testimonies of those affected by waiting times crises here in Wales. The frustration that my colleagues in the NHS express isn't just the frustration … and only blame the COVID-19 pandemic, I will remind this Chamber, as other colleagues have done, that waiting times in Wales doubled in the year before the pandemic struck. On behalf of those who work in the …
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services
… concerned that we've got young people waiting longer than they should. I do think that the waiting times situation is distorted slightly by Cardiff and the Vale. As I said to Andrew, two thirds of the children … waiting list in Cardiff and the Vale. But we are taking a wide range of steps to bring waiting times down. We've made it very clear to all health boards that we expect them to take action …
, Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
… like to request a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care regarding ophthalmology waiting times across Wales. In my own local health board area, the average waiting time for a first ophthalmology out-patient appointment … weeks, and the average waiting time for someone to actually start treatment is, indeed, 36 weeks. More worryingly, around 10 per cent of patients in the health board area are waiting 85 weeks or more to start treatment …
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care: NHS Waiting Times
… activity: more appointments, more tests, more treatments. We're helping people to be seen faster, cutting long waiting times and reducing the size of the overall waiting list—just as we said we would. And there's more … the last year was 7.1 per cent higher than the previous year. When I committed to cutting long waiting times, I also committed to working with the NHS to reset the system, to create a more sustainable service …
, Plenary
Statement by the First Minister: Programme for Government—Update.
… have a direct hand in them. I don't dissent from part of what the Member said about waiting times in the NHS. It's a matter of considerable grief to me that we went into the pandemic … with waiting times in the Welsh NHS the lowest since 2014 and falling, and now we face a very different position, as does every part of the United Kingdom. I'm pleased, in a very modest way …