4 March 2026 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
General scrutiny of the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
… that the network are saying to us is, 'We might need to look differently at how we measure waiting times for children, given the greater impact that being on a waiting list has the younger you are, obviously …
7 January 2025 , Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
… quite right. We have got to keep focused on, in particular, those people who've been waiting a long time in pain, and that's where the absolute focus is. That's why we've spent £50 million … budget, it will be difficult for us to adhere to and to deliver on a reduction in the waiting times . So, if he's serious about wanting to help us with the NHS, then he should consider what …
11 July 2025 , Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Welsh Government Delivery
… session, but perhaps I’ll start with a very simple one. On a healthier Wales, we still have waiting times where people are waiting over two years. On green jobs and growth, in particular for me, for example …
12 November 2024 , Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
… with Llyr Gruffydd. In Aberconwy, I'm repeatedly now being told that children are having to wait a considerably long time . I raised this issue a year ago and Lynne Neagle, at the time , mentioned that it was … bring these numbers down quickly, and will you consider collaborating with English treatment centres to reduce these waiting times …
21 January 2026 , Plenary
Debate on the Health and Social Care Committee Report, 'Prevention of ill health—obesity'
… Wales is extremely concerning, with around 25 per cent of children living with overweight or obesity by the time they are starting school. This is a frightening statistic. A healthy relationship with food and nutrition starts … determine future provision across all health boards. We also recommended that this audit include details of the waiting times for weight management services, and the number of people waiting for weight management services in each health board. The …
1 April 2025 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing: Suicide Prevention and Self-Harm Strategy
… suicides and self-harm incidents. So, with this in mind, Minister, how does this plan help substantially improve waiting times for therapeutic treatment? We talk a lot in this Chamber about waiting lists, but, for those waiting for …
4 February 2026 , Health and Social Care Committee
General scrutiny session with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Minister for Children and Social Care and Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing.
… rapid diagnostic centre. But I'd have to double-check. At the time , that was my understanding of the reason. They have significantly longer waits for some diagnostic tests in that health board area compared to others, but … they've put in that we've seen recently, certainly over the last six to eight weeks, the wait times for those diagnostics has come down quite considerably, both from an urgent cancer perspective and from the perspective …
21 January 2026 , Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Improving access to healthcare and reducing waiting times is a priority for this Government. We have taken direct action to support the health board to reduce its orthopaedic waiting lists. This includes support from NHS Wales Performance and …
2 March 2026 , Equality and Social Justice Committee
General ministerial scrutiny: session with the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip
… prioritising their role. I've mentioned early years, Flying Start—crucially important. And we're trying to reduce waiting times for speech and language therapies. I've said there is a reduction in terms of the numbers waiting …
4 February 2026 , Health and Social Care Committee
General scrutiny session with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Minister for Children and Social Care and Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing.
… want to focus down—we've got about 45 minutes, if we can, or somewhere near—on NHS waiting times , because it's something that taxes all of us and our citizens so much. So, although we know …
11 October 2023 , Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
… the service when their child grows and requires a bigger chair, which adds to the length of time they're waiting , despite their children having a lifelong impairment that will always require a wheelchair. Although children's wheelchairs … rights, will you now ask the health Minister to take practical action to increase efficiency and reduce the waiting times for child wheelchair users in Wales …
4 March 2026 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
General scrutiny of the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
… This means that people can self-refer, so access is absolutely key; you don't have those lengthy waiting lists, you don't necessarily have to have a GP referral, and there's no strict eligibility criteria … with that as well. So, they'll be reducing the number of sessions needed and then reducing the waiting time until you can see somebody. Betsi are going to have the Body project, which is going …
10 February 2026 , Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
… only £40. It's not just funding either, Cabinet Secretary. Patients in England benefit from a 31-day waiting time target for secondary care for cancer, yet Wales has no such specific target, leaving patients with advanced diseases … other health boards, causing dangerous delays in time -sensitive care. Endoscopies are vital for early diagnosis, yet Cardiff and Vale University Local Health Board currently has the longest waiting list for this procedure in the entire United Kingdom …
2 December 2021 , Health and Social Care Committee
Impact of waiting times backlog on people who are waiting for diagnosis or treatment: evidence session with organisations representing people with different health conditions
… were waiting more than six months. So, we are seeing improvements in terms of the length of time people are waiting , but the number of people who are waiting is the biggest that it's ever been. And … heart attack. So, it’s vital that these people are seen as soon as possible and that the waiting times are shortened much shorter than that six months that some people—a quarter of people—are having …
3 December 2025 , Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
… dedication and hard work, especially during these challenging times . The £120 million investment announced in June is very welcome. It's vital that we continue to prioritise reducing waiting lists so that no-one has to experience unnecessary … wait can be extremely painful and extremely costly for the individuals. Can the Cabinet Secretary confirm that reducing waiting times will remain a priority, and will he please look closely at finding a more rapid process for those …
3 February 2026 , Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
… endoscopy, an increase from 4,985 the previous year. In 2024, the in-patient urgent gall bladder surgery waiting time was 32 weeks. I had a constituent present to me on Friday who had had a burst gall …
27 January 2026 , Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
… about the PET scan—the contract for that has now been cancelled in north Wales. Now, the average waiting time for a first dermatology out-patient is stated as 15 weeks, with 10 per cent of patients waiting …
21 January 2026 , Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
… time from arrival to assessment by a senior clinician was 79 minutes. I've already mentioned the median waiting time to be admitted or discharged. So, it's important to bear that in mind as well as addressing …
2 July 2025 , Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Health emergency
… need hashtags or slogans; they need treatment and they need it now. We have the worst A&E waiting times in the United Kingdom. In April, just 67 per cent of patients in A&E were seen within … reaching fewer than half of those calls within the time . Deputy Presiding Officer, let us remember the human reality. In Bridgend, an 84-year-old grandmother waited 30 hours for an ambulance after breaking her hip. In another …
4 February 2026 , Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: Health board governance
… alongside the success of the 18-week referral to treatment initiative, led to very significant reductions in NHS waiting times . However, stagnation in NHS funding since 2010 has resulted in those gains being lost. If UK spending per … growing elderly population, new medicines that need funding. Thanks to investment from the new UK Labour Government, waiting lists are now coming down. People regularly tell me about operations being brought forward, about pain-relief clinics, physiotherapy and …