Plaid Cymru’s spokesperson for Health and Social Care Mabon ap Gwynfor MS will today unveil his party’s short-term plan to tackle the treatment backlog and bring down NHS waiting lists.

NHS waiting lists in Wales have hit record high every month since March 2024, and surpassed 800,000 in October with around 620,300 people awaiting treatment.

The NHS is currently run by Labour in Wales – and has been for the last 25 years.

Plaid Cymru’s plan, ‘Testing our patients: why Welsh citizens are waiting too long in the NHS and how to fix it’ outlines several immediate actions Plaid Cymru would take in the first days of government:

1. Establish regional elective care hubs to get people on waiting lists seen swiftly;

2. Improve the referral process easier by introducing an Executive Triage Service;

3. Introduce emergency legislation to embed systematic collaboration between health boards to acknowledge capacity for appointments;

4. A refreshed approach to waiting list planning by matching staffing levels with waiting list demands;

5. Use technology to get people’s symptoms assessed quicker by clinicians.

Mr ap Gwynfor said the plan was designed to tackle high waiting lists in the short-term as part of the party’s long-term vision to improve the NHS and make it fit for the future.

He said Labour had lost its way on the NHS and said that only Plaid Cymru could offer patients, doctors and nurses the ‘fresh start’ needed to turn things around.

Mabon ap Gwynfor MS said: “Plaid Cymru’s plan to tackle the backlog and bring waiting lists down shows that we are serious about fixing the NHS.

“Despite the First Minister making tackling waiting lists her priority, over 600,000 people in Wales are still waiting for NHS treatment. It should not be this way.

“On day one, a Plaid Cymru government will take immediate steps to improve the treatment referrals process by establishing an executive triage service; ensure greater collaboration between health boards to identify capacity for appointments; take advantage of technology and telemedicine to get people’s symptoms assessed quicker; match staff to the demands of waiting lists in different specialities; and finally – introduce temporary surgical hubs across Wales to get people treated.

“After 25 years of Labour, Wales – and crucially the NHS – needs a fresh start. Only Plaid Cymru has the plans and the ambition to deliver the change people need to see.”