Welsh NHS Confederation response to Welsh Government plans to reduce waiting times
Nesta Lloyd-Jones responds to the Welsh Government's plans for a clinically led approach to clear the longest waits and bring the overall waiting list down to pre-pandemic levels before the end of this Senedd term.
Responding to the Welsh Government’s plans to reduce NHS waiting times in Wales, assistant director of the Welsh NHS Confederation, Nesta Lloyd-Jones, said:
“NHS leaders welcome the Welsh Government’s high-level plan for the additional funding announced to reduce waiting times, particularly the emphasis on a clinically led approach and bringing down the longest waits.
“The emphasis on regional working, diagnostic capacity, surgical hubs and more sustainable planned care pathways is the right direction of travel. These changes have the potential to make better use of existing capacity, support faster diagnosis and treatment, and help prevent planned care services from being disrupted.
“However, waiting lists cannot be viewed in isolation from the wider pressures facing health and social care. This summer was proof that the system remains under unrelenting and escalating pressure, and there is no quick fix.
“Surgical and diagnostic hubs can play an important role in increasing capacity, but the scale of the challenge ahead cannot be underestimated. To deliver lasting improvements for patients, these hubs must be supported by multi-disciplinary teams, digital infrastructure and community-based capacity across the whole system.
“Ultimately, reducing waiting times sustainably will require a longer-term, whole-system approach focused on better integration across services, prevention and providing more care closer to home. That means strengthening primary, community and social care, improving population health and reducing health inequalities.
“The Welsh Government’s prior commitment to a whole-government approach to prevention is a positive step, but a long-term plan for health and care, backed by longer-term financial certainty and a strategy for the wider NHS estates and infrastructure, is needed to improve outcomes for patients and ensure services are sustainable for the future.
“The direction set out today is encouraging, and NHS leaders look forward to working with the Welsh Government as further detail emerges to help translate these ambitions into lasting improvements in care and outcomes for patients.”