New deal to improve access to NHS care and cut waiting times
7 Apr 2025 12:00 PM
A new deal between the NHS and the public is at the heart of a plan to continue to drive down the longest waiting times this year.
Health Secretary, Jeremy Miles, is set to unveil the ambitious strategy to reduce the waiting list by 200,000, eliminate two year waiting times for planned treatment and restore a maximum eight week wait for tests by March 2026.
He will also set out a new “patient deal” to help people track their place on the waiting list and to crack down on the 700,000 outpatient appointments which are missed or cancelled every year.
It is hoped more efficient use of healthcare resources will have a significant impact on the number of people being treated in Wales.
The new “patient deal”, will be incorporated into refreshed referral to treatment guidance, to be published later this month. The deal includes:
- The NHS will provide faster access to planned care and will tell people how long they can expect to wait when they are added to the list
- People will be able to track how long they have to wait through updates to the NHS Wales App, which will be available from June
- Only people who are fit and well enough to benefit from surgery will be added to the surgical treatment waiting list – this is because evidence shows they are more likely to recover quickly
- The NHS will support people get in the best possible shape for their treatment
- People will be offered two dates for an appointment – if they cannot or do not attend these, without a good reason, they will be removed from the waiting list. Health boards will also be required to minimise the number of cancelled appointments and operations
People will also be provided with information about alternatives to surgical treatment and potential complications, helping to reduce the number of people who regret having surgery.
Setting out the plan and deal, Health Secretary Jeremy Miles yesterday said:
The NHS will do all it can to prioritise faster access to treatment. In return, we are asking the public to do all they can to prioritise and keep their appointments so, together, we make the best possible use of scarce NHS resources.
We cannot continue losing as many as one in seven appointments because people do not turn up or cannot attend, and a further 10% which are cancelled by the NHS. These missed appointments delay care for everyone and waste valuable resources that could be helping other people.
Evidence shows people who are in better health recover from surgery faster, have fewer complications and require shorter hospital stays. By ensuring people are properly prepared and fully informed about their treatment options, we can achieve better outcomes while making more efficient use of NHS resources.
The Welsh Government has set the ambitious aim of resetting and reduce the overall waiting list size by 200,000 by the end of March 2026, bringing it back towards pre-pandemic levels.
It will also work with health boards to restore the eight-week target for diagnostic testing and ensure no one waits more than two years for planned treatment.
Health boards will be required to continue to transform the way they provide planned care over the next 12 months, including adopting more regional working, to make services more effective and efficient. They will also be required to implement recommendations from the Ministerial Advisory Group on NHS Performance and Productivity, which are expected to be published at the end of April.