The NHS has been a major topic of debate ahead of May’s Senedd election - with all the main parties claiming they are the ones who will improve healthcare across Wales.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) warned in March that the health system in Wales is both significantly poorer than before the Covid-19 pandemic and poorer than its English equivalent.

The recruitment crisis has also been a major source of contention, with unions such as the Royal College of Nursing Cymru warning that as many as half of all new nursing graduates could be left without a job.

Yet, as of March 2026, Welsh Government figures show the average waiting time for treatment is now 18 weeks, down from 23 weeks in August 2024 – the lowest since the pandemic.

But what healthcare policies have been proposed by the parties in their manifestos?

Plaid Cymru pledges to hire up to 100 additional salaried GPs with a focus on improving out-of-hours care to reduce pressure on hospitals, adding it will invest in digitisation and telehealth to further improve GP access.

Welsh Labour also promises to reduce waiting lists, saying it will “meet the 26-week waiting time target over the course of the next Senedd” - however little information is provided on how this will be achieved.

Promising to clear “the NHS waiting time backlog” the Welsh Conservatives say that, by the end of the Senedd term, no one will face an “unacceptable wait” for treatment – but what the party define as an “unacceptable wait” is not clarified.

The Conservatives say they will initiate an “urgent review” of hospital bed capacity and increase bed numbers in district general hospitals, preventing excessive emergency department waits.

Similarly, Reform UK vows to cut waiting lists by creating rapid diagnostic centres, expanding surgical hubs, and prioritising hospital bed capacity.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats propose to invest in up to 5,000 nursing-care placements to help hospitals focus on treating patients.

The Wales Green Party does not specifically mention reducing waiting lists within its manifesto but many of its other pledges, such as pausing hospital bed reductions and restoring district nursing, would likely result in reduced waiting lists.

Sharing their plan to promote the renewal of dental services across Wales, Plaid Cymru says it will re-examine the contract for NHS dentistry, adding a new duty for health boards to assess local dentistry needs and take all reasonable steps to maintain sufficient staffing levels.

Reform UK makes a similar promise, pledging to replace the existing contract to ensure NHS dentistry is “financially viable”.

The party suggests the contract redesign would improve staff retention, claiming that dentists often refuse NHS patients because current contracts do not cover the real cost of running a practice.

The lack of dentists is also acknowledged by the Welsh Conservatives - who propose to refund tuition fees for dentists, alongside doctors and nurses, who work for the Welsh NHS for five years post qualification, to encourage more people to enter the NHS workforce.

While the Wales Green Party does not specifically mention reforming the current NHS dentistry contract, the party does pledge to reform funding formulas for dental services.

Beginning from April 1, 2026, a new dental contract was introduced in Wales by the Welsh Labour Government.

In its manifesto, Welsh Labour commits to improving NHS dentistry access through this new contract but does not pledge to make any changes to it.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats are the only party to not specify if they will work towards expanding NHS dentistry provision.

Instead the party says it will guarantee access for everyone needing “urgent and emergency care” to tackle ‘dental deserts’ and end DIY dentistry.

Plaid Cymru, Welsh Labour, and Reform UK also back proposals to open a new dental school for Bangor and Aberystwyth universities.

The Wales Green Party has vowed a “gendered approach” to mental health, which will include better support after childbirth and for men in mid-life who are statistically at the highest risk of suicide - as well as supporting gender-affirming care for anyone who requires it.

Similar promises, including pledging to ensure “equity of access” to perinatal mental health services and the establishment of a dedicated task force to tackle increasing suicides in Wales, especially among men, can be found in the Plaid Cymru manifesto.

Both the Welsh Conservatives and Welsh Labour also commit to bettering perinatal mental health services, with Welsh Labour promising to invest in community-based mental health support for new mums and mums-to-be.

The Welsh Conservatives pledge to establish a dedicated mother and baby unit in north Wales to support those with post-natal mental health challenges, as well as increasing the capacity of mental health services for children and young people to prevent placements far away from their families.

Reform UK does not specify any perinatal mental health policies in its manifesto, with the party instead focusing on expanding early intervention services to “reduce crisis demand and improve long-term outcomes.”

It also pledges to provide specialist inpatient eating disorder provision to reduce out-of-area placements and delays.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats say they will treat “mental health with the same importance as physical health” and improve early access to support - but do not expand upon how they will achieve this within their manifesto.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies found Wales spends approximately 9% more per person on healthcare than England, with the Welsh NHS also spending additional money to cover things England does not provide, such as universal free prescriptions.

But while the Welsh NHS has more funding and staff than pre-pandemic, hospital activity has not increased proportionally, the IFS found.

The Welsh Conservatives promise to increase spending on health and social care in “real terms” each year of the next Senedd term if they are to form the next Welsh Government.

They are the only party to say they will implement, in full, the recommendations of the Independent Pay Review Panel on NHS pay in Wales.

The Wales Green Party also pledges to improve pay for NHS staff but does not specify in its manifesto whether it would implement the recommendations made by the panel.

The party does however plan to increase NHS funding in other areas, including for GP and dental services, as well as establishing a “properly funded” public health system focused on prevention and the wider causes of poor health.

Reform UK’s manifesto shares little about its plans for future investment into the NHS but does include proposals to reform GP funding formulas to reflect deprivation and rurality, in order to improve resource distribution across Welsh GP services.

The party also says it will invest in modern diagnostic technologies and treatments for cancer.

Plaid Cymru meanwhile says it will shift “both focus and resources” to promoting better public health, ensuring better access to the day-to-day health services, and the full integration of health and social care services.

The party pledges to invest in digitisation and telehealth, review and reform the funding model for GP services, and to establish a fund to support patients, who need to travel for specialist treatment for rare cancers, with their transport and accommodation costs.

Promising to address the “chronic underfunding” of mental health services and invest in more nursing-care placements, the Welsh Liberal Democrats also vow further NHS investment.

They commit to protecting and investing in grassroots sport facilities, arts, and culture - noting the important role they play in improving mental health and social wellbeing.

In order to maintain public services, the Lib Dems have shared that they would raise the Welsh rate of income tax by 1p in the pound, for an emergency period, if Westminster “fails to reform Wales' funding formula and fails to tax banks and large social media companies effectively”.

All of the major parties, except the Wales Green Party, commit to greater investment in Welsh hospitals in their manifestos, acknowledging the need for repairs and maintenance across the Welsh NHS estate.

Discussing the challenges facing the next Welsh Government, Dr Iona Collins, chair of the BMA’s Welsh Council, said: “It’s clear for all to see that the NHS in Wales is stretched to breaking point.

“Staff are burnt-out, patients are deteriorating whilst they wait for care in hospital corridors and GP surgeries are having to make impossible choices due to chronic underfunding.

“The decline of the NHS in Wales is not inevitable, but urgent action is needed.”

Dr Collins continued: “The next Welsh Government must commit to providing significant and long-term investment for general practice, focus on recruiting and retaining doctors with fairer pay that reflects their skills, responsibilities, and experience, as well as directing greater resource at preventative medicine.

“We need to ensure people are supported and able to make healthier choices for their lives to improve their own health but also to create a sustainable future for the national health service.

“Resources are finite and we all need to play our part.”

She added: “We want to work with the next Welsh Government to improve the NHS’ performance in Wales to benefit all.