Wales’ new Health Minister Mabon ap Gwynfor has set out plans to tackle waiting lists and ease pressure on NHS services, including up to ten new surgical and diagnostic hubs and a pledge to eliminate two-year waits within months.

The programme will see the hubs developed over the next four years to increase capacity and reduce delays, with ministers saying the overall backlog will be brought back to pre-pandemic levels before the end of the Senedd term.

Up to 100 salaried GPs will be recruited, while out-of-hours primary care will be expanded to reduce pressure on hospitals.

Community care will be expanded and discharge planning strengthened, so people spend less time in hospital and more time living well at home.

A 10-year Digital and Data Strategy will “modernise NHS infrastructure” and a long-term workforce strategy will be published this autumn.

Due to a shortage of available posts for this year’s nursing, midwifery and paramedic graduates, organisations will be brought together at a summit to consider immediate support and options to prevent similar problems in the future.

Mabon ap Gwynfor MS said: "Having to wait years for treatment, with all the pain and anxiety that entails, is an intolerable reality for far too many people in Wales.

"With urgency, decisive action and ambition, we will protect the NHS and build a healthier, fairer Wales — with a health and care system that puts people first and delivers the change our nation needs."

Opposition parties warned the plans would be judged on delivery.

Reform Wales’ Shadow Minister for Health, Prevention and Sport, James Evans MS, said the NHS in Wales was “in crisis” and said patients and staff were being failed, as confidence in the system was being “eroded”.

He said: "Behind every statistic is a person, a family and someone who has waited far too long for treatment. The people of Wales do not need another speech about renewal; they need treatment. They do not need more slogans; they need delivery.

“Warm words from Welsh Government Ministers are not enough. Reform Wales will hold this Plaid Government to account and ensure we see a health service that puts patients first, focuses on outcomes and delivers timely access to care."

Welsh Conservative Shadow Health Minister Natasha Asghar MS also questioned how the plans would be delivered in practice.

She said: “Plaid Cymru has a real opportunity to make up for the past errors now that they are in Government, but where is the immediate action, Cabinet Minister? NHS waiting lists remain shamefully high, with patients in all four corners of Wales languishing in pain, yet detail on how to tackle it remains very vague.

She added that the pledge to eliminate two-year waits “within a matter of months” must be backed by clear delivery plans, and raised concerns over pressures on A&E services, cancer screening, dentistry access, NHS maintenance backlogs and governance within health boards.

Welsh Labour interim leader Ken Skates MS welcomed the health minister’s statement but said questions remained over delivery.