News

• £1.21m lab at University Hospital Wales to expand newborn screening in Wales.
• £529,000 extra to add Hereditary Tyrosinemia Type 1 to the 9 conditions already screened for.
• Investment will mean Wales is in a position to explore taking part in the evaluation, and any potential future national screening, for SMA and SCID.

Cabinet Minister for Health and Care, Mabon ap Gwynfor, responds to the latest NHS Wales activity and performance data.

• 253 additional nursing graduates are now in posts across NHS Wales following the Graduate Summit held by the Health and Care Minister in June.
• Every nursing graduate at Aberystwyth and Bangor universities are now in posts; Health and Care Minister visiting Aberystwyth today.
• Sufficient vacancies available to support the remaining unallocated nursing graduates into employment.

• ‘No wrong door’ approach to ensure people get help wherever they go
• No referral needed to prevent long waits for mental health support
• More than 300,000 contacts to NHS 111 press 2 mental health helpline

• Eligible individuals are urged to come forward for their flu jab, COVID-19 booster and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine
• The RSV vaccine is separate and easy to forget
• RSV is a common virus that circulates every winter and can lead to serious illness

• New Safeguarding programme to strengthen protection for children, young people and adults at risk from abuse and neglect
• A new Ministerial Assurance Board and intelligence hub to detect warning signs earlier and share information faster
• Children, young people and adults voices will be at the centre of the programme.

• All neonatal units in Wales are now engaged with the Bliss Baby Charter, either having achieved bronze accreditation, or submitted for assessment.
• The Bliss Baby Charter means neonatal teams treat parents as essential partners, involving them in decisions about their baby's care.
• Bilingual resources and tailored support are being developed to help all families take part in their baby's care.

• The fine for leaving a vehicle engine running while parked will rise from £20 to between £75 and £150 from 30 September 2026. 

• The change aims to protect public health by reducing air pollution, which contributes to heart and lung disease and disproportionately affects children and vulnerable people. 

• Cabinet Minister Llyr Gruffydd marked the change with a visit to Marshfield Primary School in Newport, where pupils have taken part in a Welsh Government-funded anti-idling project. 

• New approach designed to strengthen accountability of NHS Wales as well as spotting risks earlier and getting support to health boards and trusts sooner.
• Support will be proportionate, time-bound and based on clear evidence of progress.
• Health Minister says the aim is to give people greater confidence that NHS services are supported to improve when challenges arise.

A new state of the art hub aimed at cutting NHS Wales waiting times and improving access to treatment is being backed by £121m Welsh Government funding.

Cabinet Minister for Health and Care, Mabon ap Gwynfor, responds to the latest NHS Wales activity and performance data.

• Clinically led approach to clear longest waits and bring the overall waiting list down to pre-pandemic levels before the end of this Senedd term.
• More surgical capacity targeting the specialities where waits are longest.
• Improvements to how patients are referred and how follow-up appointments are managed, freeing up tens of thousands of spaces.