Senedd Members pressed the First Minister over the state of the health service in Wales, as the new health minister outlined plans to cut waiting times, recruit more GPs and move care out of hospitals and into communities

Rhun ap Iorwerth faced his colleagues at his inaugural First Minister’s Questions in the Siambr on 2 June to be questioned on the work achieved so far by the first-ever Plaid Cymru Welsh Government.

Opening his questions to the First Minister, Reform leader Dan Thomas raised the number of people in Wales waiting more than two years to receive NHS treatment.

He said: “Thousands of people in Wales are still waiting more than two years for treatment on the Welsh NHS, whereas in England two-year waits were virtually eradicated some time ago, which proves that ending two-year waits can be achieved.

“During the election campaign, you said that two-year waits could end in a matter of months, but your new health minister has said it will happen within four years.”

Mr Thomas called on the First Minister to clarify what “expectations” the Plaid government has set for two year waiting lists, whether they are expected to end within months or within four years.

In response, Mr ap Iorwerth emphasised his ambitions to both cut waiting lists and build a sustainable health service in the long term.

He said: “I reiterate that a priority for us now is to tackle, in the coming months, those issues of the longest two-year waits.

“In fact, I'm not waiting for the next months, work has already begun to put in practice the changes that are necessary to tackle that very issue.”

The leader of the opposition continued with his focus on the NHS, suggesting that health should be the “top priority” for the Welsh Government.

The First Minister added: “I remind the leader of the opposition that he leads a group in Wales from a party whose leader does not believe in an NHS funded through general taxation.

“That is a principle that we will defend here as we deliver that NHS that's fit for the future, for patients and for staff alike.”

New Health Minister Mabon ap Gwynfor had earlier unveiled the Welsh Government’s “bold plans for the NHS, which included plans cut waiting times, recruit more GPs and move care out of hospitals and into communities.

He said that a programme of up to ten surgical and diagnostic hubs will be developed over the next four years to increase capacity of the NHS and cut delays, and that two-year waits will be “eliminated within months”, with the overall backlog reduced to pre-pandemic levels before the end of this Senedd term.

Up to 100 new salaried GPs will be recruited and access to out-of-hours primary care expanded to reduce pressure on hospitals, with community care expanded and discharge planning strengthened.

A 10-year Digital and Data Strategy will modernise NHS infrastructure, and a long-term workforce strategy will be published this autumn, Mr ap Gwynfor said.