News

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.

• From this week, young people are receiving the second dose of the MenB vaccine
• Over 17,000 have come forward for their first dose
• There is still time for those in the eligible cohort to receive their first dose
• Both doses are necessary for full protection.

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

• Gareth Evans, a podiatrist and experienced health and care leader, has taken up the role of Wales's Chief Allied Health Professions Officer.
• Allied health professionals (AHPs) are central to the Welsh Government's preventative health agenda and in delivering care closer to home.
• The appointment strengthens national professional leadership and advice for  AHPs as Wales shifts to community-based models of care.

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

• For the first time since devolution, Wales has a Minister with specific responsibility for preventative health
• New cross-government governance arrangements will embed prevention and health across Welsh Government decision-making and spending
• Early actions include rolling out physical activity programmes across primary schools, tackling vaping amongst our children and young people, developing a national lung cancer screening programme, supporting people to access nutritious food and extending the vaccination programme ahead of the winter.

• Ten-year National Cancer Strategy being developed to transform how the disease is prevented, diagnosed and treated in Wales.
• Strategy will be shaped by a formal call for evidence from patients, carers, clinicians, charities and the public as well as working with international partners.
• Strategy to be published to coincide with World Cancer Day on 4 February 2027.

• Even small increases in physical activity in those who are not currently active can make a big difference to your health, Chief Medical Officers say.
• All activity counts, from walking and taking the stairs to sports.
• Everyone benefits no matter their fitness level, including those with long-term conditions.

• Progressing a National Care Service for Wales and strengthening safeguarding arrangements.
• Mental health services to shift towards open-access, same-day support, with 21 demonstrator sites already underway and further rollout planned
• Women's Health Summit this month will hear directly from women with lived experience, alongside action to improve endometriosis, abortion services and maternity safety

• Welsh Government is taking early action to prepare NHS and social care for winter focussing on five key areas.
• NHS Wales is being asked to plan for winter earlier this year and move to a year-round planning approach considering all seasonal demands.
• Expansion of RSV vaccine to those over 65 who are at clinical risk will begin in September.