Wales' new health minister, Mabon ap Gwynfor, has set a deadline of next May to eliminate two-year NHS waits, but offered little detail on hospital repairs or new buildings, saying Plaid Cymru is committed to radical change.
In a wide-ranging interview with WalesOnline, the lifelong Plaid campaigner addressed issues including crumbling hospitals, high waiting times, staff disputes, and ambulances queuing outside packed emergency departments.
Two-year waits deadline
Mr ap Gwynfor said waits of more than two years can be eliminated by next May, although not at the same time everywhere. "I am confident that we've got the plans and we will see those two-year waits eliminated by, certainly, a year from the election, by May," he told WalesOnline.
"But, and there is a 'but' always on these things, each health board is different, so they are on different parts of the journey. So Swansea, they've hit – there's no two-year waits in Swansea Bay now. Great, fantastic, well done."
"However Betsi Cadwaladr is a different beast. Most of the two-year waits are in Betsi Cadwaladr. So it's a matter for them now to deliver."
Health visitor strike and Flying Start
Health visitors in Cwm Taf, who say they have been underpaid, have been on strike since February, with more than 20,000 appointments missed during the first three months. Mr ap Gwynfor said this "can't carry on" but he could not intervene as health minister, as it is a local issue for the health board and Unite to resolve.
He defended Plaid's plans to change Flying Start, saying the benefits of the programme should be rolled out across Wales, as more children in poverty live outside Flying Start areas than within them.
Betsi Cadwaladr review and NHS estate
The independent review of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, announced in June, will report back in November, "all being well", which will lead the next steps. The health board operates across Anglesey, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, and Wrexham.
Mr ap Gwynfor acknowledged the £1.5bn repair backlog across the Welsh NHS is more than he will get in this budget, or potentially in his entire time as health minister. He said options could include selling off parts of the estate or building something new, and that health boards are tasked with developing clinical plans.
He referenced £145m put towards the NHS in Wales in June to tackle waiting lists and infrastructure, saying it can go a long way in fixing immediate problems, such as a theatre space at Nevill Hall in Abergavenny used as a waiting room due to broken equipment.
He said he is developing a clinical plan for the whole of Wales, along with an estates plan and a workforce plan, with an announcement on the workforce plan expected in November and the plan itself in the new year.
