The Welsh Government has announced a significant £145 million funding uplift for NHS Wales to address waiting lists and strengthen long-term healthcare capacity across the country. This comes as part of the Welsh Government’s Supplementary Budget for the 2026–2027 financial year, published on 23 June 2026.
The announced funding is split into:
- £100 million to support activity to bring down the longest waits with the aim of progressing the Government’s pledge to reduce the overall backlog to pre-pandemic levels by the end of this Senedd term.
- £45 million to support the development of dedicated surgical capacity, including up to 10 surgical hubs, by the end of this Senedd term.
In response Mr Sujeewa Fernando, Vice President of the RCOG and Consultant Obstetrician and Urogynaecologist at Wrexham Maelor Hospital, said:
"Wales has a real opportunity to make women's health a priority with this funding. Right now, almost 43,000 women in Wales are on gynaecology waiting lists. Nearly a third of them have waited over 36 weeks. Lined up shoulder to shoulder, that's a queue of women nearly 5km long, just waiting for the care they need.
"Dedicated funding for surgical hubs is a welcome step, but hubs must be supported by the right staff and training.
"It's time to move from promise to delivery. We're calling on the Welsh Government to commit part of this funding to sustainable resourcing for gynaecology services across Wales. As Cabinet Minister for Health and Care Mabon ap Gwynfor recently identified, this is about more than numbers - it's about people's lives put on hold while they wait for care.”
- Waiting lists for gynaecology went up to just less than 43,000 women in April 2026, after falling steadily since August 2025.
- As of April this year, in Wales there are almost 12,000 women waiting over 36 weeks (9 months), making up 28% of those waiting (almost a third). If those women stood shoulder to shoulder, the queue would be almost 5km (4.8km) - calculation is 40.5cm (average shoulder width of a woman) x11,908=482,274cm which is 4.8km.
- The RCOG’s data dashboard for gynaecology waiting lists is here: https://rcogwaitinglist.health.lcp.com/
- Full statement by the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care on Delivering on our priorities: Reducing waiting times and strengthening primary care Plenary 23/06/2026 - Welsh Parliament
- Welsh Government’s pledge to reduce NHS waiting times: Welsh Government pledges to cut NHS waiting times | GOV.WALES