Patients to benefit from faster diagnosis and treatment under NHS Wales reforms

The Welsh Government is today (Thursday 3 September) setting out how significant funding will cut the NHS Wales waiting list and end two-year waits for treatment.

Health and Care Minister Mabon ap Gwynfor recently announced an extra £145m is being invested in NHS Wales this financial year. The funding includes £100m to support the Welsh Government’s aims of reducing NHS waiting times, £25m in new surgical and diagnostic hubs, and £20m on essential maintenance across the NHS estate.

The clinically led approach being announced sets out how Health Boards will work together to target the longest waits, improve productivity, expand sustainable capacity and continue transforming planned care services.

This will be key in reducing waiting times and bring the overall waiting list to pre-pandemic levels before the end of this Senedd term.

For patients, this means a health service that focuses on getting people assessed, diagnosed and treated quicker, rather than spending months or years moving between different stages of the system.

Health Boards, working together, will see more surgical capacity, including at weekends, targeting the specialities where waits are longest.

Referrals will be also reviewed earlier so people receive the right advice, tests or treatment first time. Earlier clinical review can help avoid unnecessary delays, direct patients to the most appropriate pathway and ensure available capacity is focused where it is needed most.

Many patients attend routine follow-ups they no longer need. The new approach will see patients contact services when they need support rather than attending appointments they may not need, freeing up tens of thousands of appointments for other clinical activity including for those waiting to be seen for the first time.

Faster scanning and testing will be central to the approach, with investment in diagnostic capacity and digital tools to cut the time between referral and diagnosis. 

New standards will also make sure people who have waited longest are treated next, unless there's a clear clinical reason to prioritise someone else.

Mabon ap Gwynfor will visit Nevill Hall Hospital in Abergavenny today to meet staff and see the theatres, regional cataract hub and endoscopy facilities.

He said: "Waiting two years for planned care is not acceptable. This investment is tied to Health Boards changing how they work, permanently, so the progress I expect to see doesn't slip back as it has in the past. That's the difference between a short-term fix and lasting change.

"Patients should receive timely advice, diagnosis and treatment through services that are designed around their needs, not around organisational boundaries.

"Alongside additional capacity, we are supporting changes that make services more sustainable, including better referral management, increased diagnostic capacity, more surgical hub activity and improved follow-up arrangements.

"None of this is possible without the hard work and expertise of NHS staff. Their leadership sits at the heart of this approach, and every Health Board must now work together to deliver further improvements for patients."

NHS Wales national clinical directors of planned care and consultant surgeons, Richard Egan and Ken Harries said: “We welcome today’s announcement. It’s particularly pleasing to see the clear focus on modernisation and sustainability. 

“This approach can see the service transformation required to deliver high quality, prudent, and efficient care for the people of Wales.

“This investment will enable effective use of current capacity, the development of efficient surgical and diagnostic hubs, and significant reductions in waiting times.”