NHS reform is key to tackling record high waiting lists Plaid Cymru has said.

The party’s health spokesperson Mabon ap Gwynfor MS said Labour could not keep doing the same things over and over and expect different results when it comes to the NHS.

Latest figures reveal 615,300 patients were on waiting lists in Wales – with 23,418 waiting more than two years for treatment.

Speaking ahead of a Plaid Cymru opposition debate calling on the Labour Welsh Government to urgently review its plan to reduce NHS waiting lists, Mr ap Gwynfor also said that NHS reforms are key to tackle waiting times.

The First Minister has said that NHS reforms have been placed on the back burner in order to focus on waiting times.

Contrastingly, Sir Keir Starmer has said that the NHS “must reform or die” in response to an independent investigation into the health service in England.

Plaid Cymru spokesperson for health and social care, Mabon ap Gwynfor MS said: “Labour lost control of the NHS a long time ago yet continues to blame everyone else for its own failings.

“With a staggering 600,000 people on waiting lists in Wales - the highest on record – it’s clear that Labour cannot keep doing the same things over and over and expect different results. If the NHS is to live for another 75 years, it needs reforming.

“Yet the First Minister has made it clear that reforms aren’t on the cards until waiting lists come down. The First Minister this week blamed health board bosses for these failures despite managing the health portfolio until very recently.

“She has also blamed the people of Wales for their health conditions, and blaming patients for turning up to A&E. It seems that it is always someone else’s fault while this Labour Government refuses to take any responsibility.

Mr ap Gwynfor continued: “While Labour in Wales bury their heads in the sand at the scale of the challenge, Labour in England have at least recognised the issues facing the NHS in England.

“Plaid Cymru is clear about the bold action required to put the NHS back on its feet.

“We need to be investing properly in the preventative agenda to keep people out of hospital, just as we need to tackle the deep-rooted issues of staff retention, harness technological innovations to bring care closer to home, invest and modernise the NHS estate and secure a fair funding deal for Wales from Westminster.

“Labour have been in charge of the NHS for 25 years. It’s time for a fresh start and a government of new ideas, that only Plaid Cymru offers.”