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 statistics

13 commitments in the Welsh Government's Programme for Government 2026 to 2030 fall under this brief, in the Programme's own words. Under each is how often it has been raised in the Seventh Senedd.

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.

• Sam Rowlands MS calls for a better deal for GPs

  Herald.Wales, 23 October 2026

• GP practice serving one of Wales' poorest areas wins major award

  South Wales Argus, 22 October 2026

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

1. 23 June 2026Statement

   Delivering on our priorities: Reducing waiting times and strengthening primary care

   Statement by the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care

   Opened by Mabon ap Gwynfor19 contributions

No votes in the Seventh Senedd have been tagged with this.

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. 3 since the 2026 election; the latest:

1. 6 July 2026

   Cyrff Cytundeb Gofal Sylfaenol / Primary Care Contract Bodies

   Meeting, Cabinet Minister for Health and Care

2. 18 June 2026

   Uwchgynhadledd Gofal Sylfaenol / Primary Care Summit

   Meeting, Deputy Minister for Social Care, Mental Health and Women’s Health

3. 18 June 2026

   Primary Care Summit

   Meeting, Deputy Minister for Public and Preventative Health

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

Members whose entries in the Register of Members' Interests relate to this brief, matched by the brief's words and phrases. Members must register these interests, and having one doesn't mean anything improper.

• Gareth Thomas1 related entry

  • Gifts, Hospitality, Material Benefits or Advantage: Member Description of the gift: 1500ml Bottle of champagne Name of the person or organisation providing the gift: Smart Smiles Value or estimated value: £350 Date on which it was…

The full register

• 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.

6 written questions to the Welsh Government on this brief in the Seventh Senedd, 5 answered so far. The latest:

1. Natasha AsgharConservative20 October 2026

   What action is the Welsh Government taking to ensure that patients accessing cross-border specialist care and support for chronic and resistant UTIs will have adequate integration and contact between English and Welsh NHS services, as currently there is no coordination with GP care in Wales?

   To the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care. Awaiting an answer

2. Darren MillarConservative21 September 2026

   Are Health Education and Improvement Wales, Public Health Wales, Health and Care Research Wales and Digital Health and Care Wales included in Welsh Government plans to require health boards to increase the proportion of their budgets devoted to primary care by 0.5% each year from 2027-28?

   To the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care. Answered 1 October 2026

3. Sam RowlandsConservative14 September 2026

   Will the Cabinet Minister provide an update as to when OpenEyes will be fully rolled out in all health boards for primary care optometry practices?

   To the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care. Answered 21 September 2026

4. Cai Parry-JonesReform11 September 2026

   What action is the Welsh Government taking to improve outcomes for women with ovarian cancer, including earlier diagnosis, improved awareness of symptoms and GP support, and equitable access to specialist treatment and clinical trials?

   To the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care. Answered 21 September 2026

5. Joshua KimReform2 September 2026

   What assessment has the Cabinet Minister made of the number and proportion of GP practices in each health board area that are formally compliant with the national access standards but still require patients seeking same-day appointments to contact the practice at or around 8am?

   To the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care. Answered 10 September 2026

All 6 written questions on this brief

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

1. Halt any loss of beds, facilities and Community Hospital closures in Powys review of rural healthcare

   Open

   10,417 signatures

2. Reform the ASD/ADHD pathway with joint GP and school responsibility and mandatory neurodiversity training.

   Open

   562 signatures

3. Enable NHS Wales to Partner with Approved Digital Providers to Improve Access to Pharmacy Services.

   Open

   75 signatures

4. Backdate council tax discounts for dementia to the date of GP certification

   Open

   36 signatures

No committee sessions on this brief in the Seventh Senedd yet.

192 contributions in the Seventh Senedd, newest first.

1. James EvansReform

   14 July 2026, Plenary

   Statement by the Deputy Minister for Public and Preventative Health: Priorities for Public and Preventative Health

   …get off the treadmill, as such, of taking these jabs. So, I'd like to know what work you're doing with primary care to understand how you can work with local gyms, leisure facilities, so that when people are accessing weight-loss medication, their lifestyle is changing along with their life, because…

   Tagged for: “primary care”Official Record

2. Jason O'ConnellReform

   9 July 2026, Petitions Committee

   Papers to note

   …shared with the petitioner. Has anybody got any comments? All noted. The next one, P-06-1575, 'Protect GP services at Meddygfa’r Sarn, Pontyates'. Apologies for my pronunciation, if I've got that wrong. I invite members to note the correspondence relating to a closed petition, which has been shared…

   Tagged for: “GP”Official Record

3. Nerys EvansPlaid

   8 July 2026, Plenary

   Short Debate: Health inequalities in the south Wales coalfield

   …kind in devolution, was created. If we want healthier populations, we must look beyond hospitals and GP surgeries. Health is fundamentally shaped by our homes, our schools, our workplaces and the strength of our communities. Action on poverty, housing, education and employment is also action on…

   Tagged for: “GP surgeries”, “GP”Official Record

4. Matthew JonesPlaid

   8 July 2026, Plenary

   Short Debate: Health inequalities in the south Wales coalfield

   …the work that's happening as part of the Plaid Cymru Welsh Government's 100 days to improve funding of GP services, ensuring people have access to primary care when needed. But, one thing that does definitely needs mentioning is the economy. So many aspects in that vicious circle we've mentioned can…

   Tagged for: “GP”, “primary care”Official Record

5. Matthew JonesPlaid

   8 July 2026, Plenary

   Short Debate: Health inequalities in the south Wales coalfield

   …are 5 per cent more common in the Torfaen wards. Mental health conditions are present in a third of GP cases in the Torfaen wards. Premature deaths and long-term illness are much higher in Torfaen than in Monmouthshire. So too are personal independence payment and universal credit claimants. This…

   Tagged for: “GP”Official Record

6. Gwyn WilliamsPlaid

   8 July 2026, Plenary

   Member Debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv): Ophthalmology services

   …to come to a few very important things that Jane Dodds said earlier. First of all, she said about the optometry side, which is something that was echoed, of course, by the Minister himself. And I hope that she will be gratified to know that I have bored David O'Sullivan, the chief optometric…

   Tagged for: “optometry”, “primary care”Official Record

7. Mabon ap GwynforPlaid

   8 July 2026, Plenary

   Member Debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv): Ophthalmology services

   …prescribing optometrists in the community, which helps to reduce unnecessary demand on hospital and GP services. But we have to go further. The future of eye care calls for more than just expanding hospital services. It means creating an integrated system, where optometry and ophthalmology work…

   Tagged for: “GP”, “optometry”Translated from WelshOfficial Record

8. Mabon ap GwynforPlaid

   8 July 2026, Plenary

   Member Debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv): Ophthalmology services

   …work together on a regional basis. One of the strongest examples of service transformation is community optometry. Through Wales General Ophthalmic Services, optometrists with additional postgraduate qualifications are increasingly managing patients closer to home, improving access, allowing…

   Tagged for: “optometry”Official Record

9. Jane DoddsLib Dem

   8 July 2026, Plenary

   Member Debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv): Ophthalmology services

   …turn. We don't need a new idea to fix this; we need an eye care support pathway with ophthalmology and optometry lying at the heart of it. That already exists, but we're not seeing it followed through. As we've heard, what we want to see is a single agency for ophthalmology that operates across…

   Tagged for: “optometry”Official Record

10. Delyth JewellPlaid

    7 July 2026, Plenary

    Statement by the Deputy Minister for Social Care, Mental Health and Women's Health: Priorities for social care, mental health and women's health

    …Women wait in pain for far too long. But this is something that we are going to be looking at from primary care—again, women being believed, women taking up space in GP appointments—right through to those if someone has deep infiltrating endometriosis, where there will be far fewer women, of course…

    Tagged for: “primary care”, “GP appointments”, “GP”Official Record

11. Delyth JewellPlaid

    7 July 2026, Plenary

    Statement by the Deputy Minister for Social Care, Mental Health and Women's Health: Priorities for social care, mental health and women's health

    …deserve. So, I want to look at this in terms of, yes, how it is working in hubs, how it's working in primary care, all the way through to tertiary services as well. It's going to be a focus of the women's health plan. In terms of the hubs, some of them are working well. I think that because of the…

    Tagged for: “primary care”Official Record

12. Jayne BryantLabour

    7 July 2026, Plenary

    Statement by the Deputy Minister for Social Care, Mental Health and Women's Health: Priorities for social care, mental health and women's health

    …across Wales, to improve access to specialist support. This was alongside a network of community and primary care endometriosis clinics to be based in the new women's health hubs. I note that the Minister said she's carefully considering the women's health model. I'm just disappointed that you can't…

    Tagged for: “primary care”Official Record

13. Delyth JewellPlaid

    7 July 2026, Plenary

    Statement by the Deputy Minister for Social Care, Mental Health and Women's Health: Priorities for social care, mental health and women's health

    …women’s health hubs, through theatre space, or for more women to take up the space they need in their GP appointments. How many women listening today have been belittled or ignored? We’ve all had fantastic doctors who get it, and we’ve all had doctors who don’t. No woman should be afraid or…

    Tagged for: “GP appointments”, “GP”Official Record

14. Rhun ap IorwerthPlaid

    7 July 2026, Plenary

    Questions to the First Minister

    …In particular, it's about the shift—which we have already started work on—of resources towards primary care. That means care within the communities, it means working across multidisciplinary teams, district nursing and so on, so that we are able to treat people within their communities. That work…

    Tagged for: “primary care”Official Record

15. Rhun ap IorwerthPlaid

    7 July 2026, Plenary

    Questions to the First Minister

    The Member is quite right, of course. There's a great deal of flow both ways. If we look at primary care, there are 13,000 people from Wales registered with GPs in England and almost 21,000 people from England registered with GPs in Wales. So this is a symbiotic relationship on both sides of the…

    Tagged for: “primary care”, “GPs”Translated from WelshOfficial Record

This brief follows the Programme commitments listed above and tags the record with the phrases below. Keyword matching can miss business that discusses the issue in other words, and can tag a passing mention.

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