Plaid Cymru - Labour’s Failing Record of the NHS Leading to Delayed Cancer Treatment

Plaid Cymru promises to renew the NHS with plans to tackle waiting lists and improve cancer outcomes.

Responding to NHS Activity and Performance for January and February 2026 released today (Thursday 19 March 2026), which includes waiting lists, Plaid Cymru’s spokesperson for health and social care, Mabon ap Gwynfor MS said:

“Over half a million of the Welsh population remain on a NHS waiting lists, with 5,000 still waiting over two years despite Labour's previous promises to remove two year waits altogether. This, alongside the fact that only 57% of cancer patients begin treatment within two months, reflects Labour's failing record when it comes to the NHS. It isn't good enough.

“Plaid Cymru's ambitious vision to renew the NHS includes a dedicated plan to tackle Labour's waiting lists, co-designed with clinicians and health experts - rolling out surgical hubs across Wales to get people treated faster, increase bed capacity, recruit more GPs to ease future demands on the waiting list backlog, and modernise the NHS.

“With Wales now the only UK nation without a cancer plan - we will right this wrong with a strategy that prioritises prevention, early diagnosis through rapid diagnostic hubs and ensure that cancer patients receive the timely treatment they need and deserve.

“The people of Wales deserve better than Labour's mismanagement of the NHS which is leaving patients and staff alike paying to price. It's time for a Plaid Cymru government with real ambition to put our NHS on a more sustainable footing.