The NHS

Statistics published by the Welsh Government. Each chart covers the years since the 2016 Senedd election, or as far back as the figures go, and marks each election since.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

How we show official statisticsFigures on this brief quoted in the Senedd (92)

The Programme for Government 2026 to 2030 belongs to the Seventh Senedd. Choose the Seventh Senedd to see how often each commitment has come up.

Source: Welsh Government, Programme for government 2026 to 2030: New ambition for Wales, first published on 10 September 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Mentions are found by matching the names of plans, bodies and schemes; a mention says nothing about progress.

The latest headlines on this brief, linking to each outlet's story.

• Welsh NHS waiting list rises for fifth month to 714,200 treatment pathways

  Herald.Wales, 23 October 2026

Statements, debates and legislation in Plenary on this brief, newest first. Oral question sessions are counted in the contributions below.

1. 27 January 2026Statement

   NHS Waiting Times

   Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care

   Opened by Y Dirprwy Lywydd / The Deputy Presiding Officer21 contributions

2. 15 January 2025Debate

   NHS waiting times

   Plaid Cymru Debate

   Opened by Y Llywydd / The Llywydd36 contributions

3. 18 September 2024Debate

   NHS waiting lists

   Plaid Cymru Debate

   Opened by Y Llywydd / The Llywydd23 contributions

4. 3 July 2024Debate

   NHS waiting lists

   Welsh Conservatives Debate

   Opened by Y Dirprwy Lywydd / The Deputy Presiding Officer25 contributions

5. 29 June 2022Debate

   Debate on the Health and Social Care Committee Report—'Waiting well? The impact of the waiting times backlog on people in Wales'

   Opened by Y Llywydd / The Llywydd22 contributions

6. 11 May 2022Debate

   NHS waiting lists

   Welsh Conservatives Debate

   Opened by Y Dirprwy Lywydd / The Deputy Presiding Officer53 contributions

7. 26 April 2022Statement

   Planned Care Recovery Plan

   Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services

   Opened by Y Dirprwy Lywydd / The Deputy Presiding Officer38 contributions

Votes are tagged from their own titles and the agenda item they were held under.

Ministers' meetings with outside organisations and their engagements on this brief, from the register the Welsh Government publishes every three months. 1 since the 2026 election:

1. 4 June 2026

   Gymdeithas Orthopedig Cymru / Welsh Orthopaedic Society

   Meeting, Cabinet Minister for Health and Care

Source: Welsh Government, ministerial meetings and engagements. The register is published three months or more after the meetings it lists.

• 74% of Welsh adults said the NHS would be very important to their vote.

Ipsos asked 747 Welsh adults aged 16+ between 2 April 2026 and 8 April 2026, before the 2026 Senedd election. People could choose as many issues as they liked. More on public opinion.

297 written questions to the Welsh Government on this brief in the Sixth Senedd, 295 answered so far. The latest:

1. Russell GeorgeIndependent20 March 2026

   How much of the £120 million announced last year to help cut NHS waiting times was provided to English providers to benefit Powys patients?

   To the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care. Answered 1 April 2026

2. Russell GeorgeIndependent20 March 2026

   Will the Cabinet Secretary set out how the £120 million to help cut waiting times cited in the Cabinet Secretary's statement on the 19 June 2025 will benefit Powys patients who are on a waiting list in England?

   To the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care. Answered 1 April 2026

3. Russell GeorgeIndependent20 March 2026

   How many of the 200,000 appointments that will be affected by the £120 million to help cut waiting times cited in the Cabinet Secretary's statement on the 19 June 2025 will be patients from Powys Teaching Health Board?

   To the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care. Answered 1 April 2026

4. Mark IsherwoodConservative19 March 2026

   What assessment has the Cabinet Secretary made of the impact of health boards’ current approach to commissioning ophthalmology care through short-term contracts on staffing levels and the long-term objective of reducing waiting times?

   To the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care. Answered 24 March 2026

5. Natasha AsgharConservative18 March 2026

   Will the Cabinet Secretary outline the current average referral to treatment waiting time for children using Noah's Ark Children's Hospital by treatment function?

   To the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care. Awaiting an answer

All 297 written questions on this brief

3 petitions to the Senedd on this brief, open ones first, then by signatures:

1. Establish One National Health Board for Wales and Empower County Hospitals

   Closed

   1,034 signatures

2. Bring back the A&E department at the Royal Gwent Hospital.

   Closed

   484 signatures

3. Declare a Welsh National Health Emergency

   Closed

   417 signatures

Committee sessions where this brief was on the agenda, newest first.

1. 12 July 2023Health and Social Care Committee

   evidence session with health bodies

   NHS waiting times

   165 contributions

2. 10 February 2022Health and Social Care Committee

   Impact of the waiting times backlog on people in Wales who are waiting for diagnosis or treatment and Scrutiny of the Welsh Government’s Health and Social Care Winter Plan 2021 to 2022: evidence session with the Minister for Health and Social Services

   177 contributions

3. 13 January 2022Health and Social Care Committee

   evidence session with The Royal College of Surgeons of England and The King's Fund

   Impact of waiting times backlog on people who are waiting for diagnosis or treatment

   116 contributions

4. 2 December 2021Health and Social Care Committee

   evidence session with organisations representing the patient's voice

   Impact of waiting times backlog on people who are waiting for diagnosis or treatment

   72 contributions

5. 2 December 2021Health and Social Care Committee

   evidence session with organisations representing people with different health conditions

   Impact of waiting times backlog on people who are waiting for diagnosis or treatment

   80 contributions

6. 2 December 2021Health and Social Care Committee

   evidence session with Wales Cancer Alliance

   Impact of waiting times backlog on people who are waiting for diagnosis or treatment

   60 contributions

7. 2 December 2021Health and Social Care Committee

   evidence session with allied health professionals

   Impact of waiting times backlog on people who are waiting for diagnosis or treatment

   88 contributions

8. 18 November 2021Health and Social Care Committee

   evidence session with mental health and psychological support organisations

   Impact of waiting times backlog on people who are waiting for diagnosis or treatment

   97 contributions

2,629 contributions in the Sixth Senedd, newest first.

1. Buffy WilliamsLabour

   23 May 2022, Petitions Committee

   New Petitions

   …long time. I know that the Health and Social Care Committee have recently held an inquiry into hospital waiting times and ambulance waiting times, and I know that the health committee have recently taken evidence on this. So, until that inquiry and the report, then, has been issued, I think we…

   Tagged for: “waiting times”Official Record

2. Jack SargeantLabour

   23 May 2022, Petitions Committee

   New Petitions

   …back to the Welsh Government, based on your suggestion there. Item 3.3, P-06-1273, 'Drastically reduce waiting times for ambulances and at A&E departments'. 'My father had to wait 13 hours after suffering from a serious stroke. Part of the problem was ambulances stuck at A&E departments for several…

   Tagged for: “waiting times”Official Record

3. Alex Nilan

   23 May 2022, Petitions Committee

   Evidence session: P-06-1253 Ban greyhound racing in Wales

   …have kennels where greyhounds are in, and they have been with us for weeks. We also have 50 dogs on our waiting list from Welsh homes. We cannot help those dogs until we rehome the greyhounds. We expect and predict this situation to be similar for a good few years. Not banning greyhound racing will…

   Tagged for: “waiting list”Official Record

4. Yr Athro Carolyn Wallace

   19 May 2022, Health and Social Care Committee

   Mental health inequalities: evidence session with Professor Carolyn Wallace, Wales School for Social Prescribing Research (WSSPR)

   …and mental health services. The role of social prescribing has been used in some cases to help manage waiting lists. Because the waiting lists are so long, then individuals are being referred to help alongside treatments that they're having from the GP in order to wait for that specialist treatment.…

   Tagged for: “waiting lists”Official Record

5. Eluned MorganLabour

   18 May 2022, Plenary

   Short Debate: Improving access to healthcare

   …justice to the huge range of policy and activity through our national programmes for primary care, for planned care, for urgent and emergency care and for mental health to support this rebalancing of the system, so I'm going to highlight the action to improve access to those services that most…

   Tagged for: “planned care”, “waiting lists”Official Record

6. Gareth DaviesConservative

   18 May 2022, Plenary

   Short Debate: Improving access to healthcare

   …do manage to navigate their way through primary care, they face the same challenges in secondary care. Referral-to-treatment times were already astronomical prior to COVID and have skyrocketed since. The latest figures show that one in five of us are on a list awaiting NHS treatment, two thirds of a…

   Tagged for: “Referral-to-treatment”Official Record

7. Gareth DaviesConservative

   18 May 2022, Plenary

   Short Debate: Improving access to healthcare

   …to see their GPs, driving hundreds of miles to get dental treatment, or waiting years to get a hip replacement. We became used to seeing lines of ambulances stacked up outside our hospitals. Winter pressures had become year-round pressures; we were as likely to see ambulances queuing outside…

   Tagged for: “hip replacement”Official Record

8. Gareth DaviesConservative

   18 May 2022, Plenary

   Welsh Conservatives Debate: Child and adolescent mental health

   …from Jane Dodds about her experience in the social work profession and seeking clarification on those waiting times, which the Deputy Minister was able to respond to you on—I was listening, Deputy Minister, just for clarity—and the positive stories coming out of some of the services in terms of home…

   Tagged for: “waiting times”Official Record

9. Gareth DaviesConservative

   18 May 2022, Plenary

   Welsh Conservatives Debate: Child and adolescent mental health

   …compounded by the pandemic, which has been widely referred to during today's debate, both in terms of waiting times, but also in terms of increasing the numbers needing support. Barnardo's Cymru staff are reporting there has been an increase in mental health and well-being issues amongst the…

   Tagged for: “waiting times”Official Record

10. Lynne NeagleLabour

    18 May 2022, Plenary

    Welsh Conservatives Debate: Child and adolescent mental health

    Thank you, Darren. As you say, it's not just about the waiting times. I have myself called for there to be more of a focus on outcomes and what happens to young people once they have that assessment. We are currently working on validating the data so that we can provide more public information on…

    Tagged for: “waiting times”Official Record

11. Lynne NeagleLabour

    18 May 2022, Plenary

    Welsh Conservatives Debate: Child and adolescent mental health

    …health services, and as I said in my intervention to Laura Anne Jones, we were in compliance with the waiting time targets prior to the pandemic, which is precisely why the previous children's committee called for a renewed focus on early intervention, because they—the committee I chaired—recognised…

    Tagged for: “waiting time”, “waiting times”, “waiting lists”Official Record

12. Jane DoddsLib Dem

    18 May 2022, Plenary

    Welsh Conservatives Debate: Child and adolescent mental health

    …vote this evening, because it really does concern me that there are two major issues. One is the CAMHS waiting time. It is far too long, and I'm looking forward to hearing from the Minister what the figures are around the waiting times, because I'm a little bit unclear what they are. And we heard…

    Tagged for: “waiting time”, “waiting times”, “waiting list”Official Record

13. Samuel KurtzConservative

    18 May 2022, Plenary

    Welsh Conservatives Debate: Child and adolescent mental health

    …constituency, interventions such as this are all too common and far too familiar. The latest CAMHS waiting list figures show that less than two thirds of young people are receiving the required local primary mental health support service assessment within 28 days. In the Hywel Dda University Health…

    Tagged for: “waiting list”, “Waiting lists”Official Record

14. Laura Anne JonesConservative

    18 May 2022, Plenary

    Welsh Conservatives Debate: Child and adolescent mental health

    …than one in two—were seen within this time period. In my own region in South Wales East, we see waiting times for specialist CAMHS is in a bad way, with over 14 per cent of young people waiting over four weeks for that first appointment. It is clear now that this isn't good enough and that our…

    Tagged for: “waiting times”Official Record

15. Lynne NeagleLabour

    18 May 2022, Plenary

    Welsh Conservatives Debate: Child and adolescent mental health

    …Committee did in this area, but our landmark one, 'Mind over matter', recognised that, actually, waiting times had significantly improved and that the focus needed to go to early intervention. Maybe you ought to have a look at some of those reports.

    Tagged for: “waiting times”Official Record

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