Plaid Cymru’s health spokesperson has criticised the Welsh Labour Government for never succeeding in hitting any of their Planned Care Recovery Plan targets.

Senedd member Mabon ap Gwynfor said that the latest data on waiting lists has shown that the targets for decreasing waiting lists set out in the Planned Care Recovery Plan have been missed once again.

Five targets were set in the Planned Care Recovery Plan, created in 2022, to reduce or eliminate certain waits within the NHS in Wales.

The targets in the Planned Care Recovery Plan are as follows:

• No one waiting longer than a year for their first outpatient appointment by the end of 2022.

• Since setting the target, it has never been met.

• Eliminate the number of people waiting longer than two years in most specialities by March 2023.

• Since setting the target, it has never been met.

• Eliminate the number of people waiting longer than one year in most specialities by Spring 2025.

• Since setting the target, it has never been met.

• Increase the speed of diagnostic testing and reporting to eight weeks and 14 weeks for therapy interventions by Spring 2024.

• Since setting the target, it has never been met.

• Cancer diagnosis and treatment to be undertaken within 62 days for 80% of people by 2026.

• Since setting the target, it has never been met.

Mr ap Gwynfor explained how the statistics released this week saw an ‘see-sawing of data [that] is completely unsustainable’. He referred to the fact that the percentage of cancer patients meeting the 62 day target had fallen this month, from 61.3% to 60.2%, both substantially below the 80% target.

The Plaid Cymru health spokesperson said Labour were at fault for ‘normalising low expectations’, by celebrating the fact that the NHS is missing ‘already diluted’ targets, such as the First Minister’s target to reduce two year waits to 8,000 by Spring 2025, after failing to eradicate them by 2022 as originally hoped in the Planned care Recovery Plan.

Mr ap Gwynfor went on to explain that Labour’s failure to reduce waiting lists are having adverse effects on the rest of the Government’s actions, with increasing amounts of money being spent on attempting to, and failing to reduce waiting lists - a total of £1.5bn in this Senedd term alone.

In response to the waiting lists announced this week, Plaid Cymru health spokesperson, Mabon ap Gwynfor, said: "Any progress is welcomed, but this see-sawing of data is completely unsustainable. The Government's response is to put an extremely expensive sticking plaster on a very deep wound.

“The truth is that the waiting lists are a symptom of deeper problems within the health service, and until they get to grips with these problems - governance, social care, and primary care - then we will continue to see the figures see-saw up and down.

“This is why Plaid Cymru have put together comprehensive plans Co-designed by clinicians and NHS managers to tackle the waiting lists in the short term, and fix the foundations for the long term.

“The failure to meet the cancer targets again is especially concerning as we know that early treatment saves lives, which is why we need a comprehensive Cancer strategy for Wales, rather than the current muddled approach."

On the Welsh Government failing to meet any targets since first set, Mr ap Gwynfor added: “Labour have never hit any of the targets for our NHS. Even worse, if you were to backdate the statistics to before the targets were set, they haven’t been hit for over a decade.

“Labour have had countless opportunities over decades to reduce waiting lists, but they continue to fail, even when compared against already diluted targets.

“People are waiting longer for treatment across Wales and are living in both physical and mental pain, yet Labour have attempted to normalise low expectations and are somehow claiming wins for non-existent progress.

“With over £1.5 billion spent on tackling waiting lists over this Senedd term and record numbers still waiting for treatment, it’s clear that Labour’s time is up after 26 years of failure.

“The people of Wales deserve better, they deserve an NHS fit for purpose, they deserve new leadership. 2026 offers the people of Wales the chance for new leadership under Plaid Cymru, that will take seriously the challenges faced by our NHS, for a healthier Wales.”