Wales’ health secretary Jeremy Miles has confirmed that £28m will be made available to help the Welsh NHS cut the longest hospital waiting times.
The investment is set to trigger more evening and weekend appointments as well as work to target waiting lists in specialties like:
- Orthopaedics
- Ophthalmology
- General surgery
- Gynaecology
Outpatient appointments are also set to be released by reducing the number of unnecessary automatic follow-ups.
This is specifically expected to impact the two-year+ waiters, waiting times for the first outpatient appointment, and diagnostic test results.
“This new funding will be used by health boards to deliver a range of schemes that will start almost immediately,” said Miles. “They will target the longest waits in orthopaedics, general surgery, ophthalmology and gynaecology by increasing capacity for more people to be seen and treated through overtime and more regional working.
“The NHS is working very hard to reduce the backlog, which built up during the pandemic – this is additional funding, over and above the recovery money we make available every year, to support the NHS to cut the longest waits and improve access to planned care.”
Miles announced the additional funding during a visit to Nevill Hall Hospital where he met ophthalmology and endoscopy teams from Aneurin Bevan University Health Board working to cut waiting lists.
"We are incredibly grateful to the Welsh Government for this significant investment, which will make a real difference in reducing waiting times for patients across Gwent,” said Aneurin Bevan University Health Board’s CEO, Nicola Prygodzicz.
She added: “We are committed to using the additional resources effectively to address the longest waits, particularly in high-demand areas such as orthopaedics and ophthalmology. This investment supports our continued efforts to provide timely, high-quality care for our communities."
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