A report released into NHS in Wales has been labelled as ‘concerning’ by Plaid Cymru, but ‘hardly surprising’.

The Ministerial Advisory Group report makes 29 recommendations, including suggestions for improving waiting list management, removing unwarranted variation in treatment, using national and regional plans to establish sustainable services and enhancing leadership within NHS Wales.

The Welsh Labour Government’s Health Secretary Jeremy Miles has accepted the 29 recommendations made by the Ministerial Advisory Group on NHS Performance and Productivity, which was set up in October to look at the effectiveness of current NHS Wales arrangements.

Jeremy Miles said: “The message in the report is very clear: we have a significant challenge in performance and in productivity. The service is not performing at the levels that we or the public need and expect it to.

“That demands a step change in our approach so we can improve the services the public receives, deliver better health outcomes they deserve, and make sure every pound spent brings the best value, as demands on the health service increase into the future.”

Following the release of the Ministerial Advisory Group report into the NHS in Wales, Plaid Cymru’s spokesperson on Health, Mabon ap Gwynfor MS, said: “This report is concerning - but hardly surprising. From record high waiting lists, to some of the worst cancer survival rates in the developed world, the evidence that the NHS has completely lost its way after 25 years of Labour is plain for all to see.

“No wonder that a recent Nuffield survey showed public dissatisfaction with the NHS at 72% in Wales - by far the highest of all the UK nations.

“The main recommendations of the report closely echo what Plaid Cymru set out six months ago in our report on reforming the governance architecture of the NHS.

“Unfortunately, instead of acting on our report when they had the chance, the Government resorted to their usual practice of claiming that what was being asked of it was already being done - contrary to the testimonies of the numerous senior health care leaders that informed our report.

“So six months have been wasted by Labour's complete failure to show decisive leadership on this issue - and voters will be rightly sceptical as to whether they have the vision, the energy and the drive to deliver the urgent course correction that the NHS desperately needs.

“Our NHS in Wales needs a fresh start with a Government that has a plan to improve our health service – a Plaid Cymru Government.”