00:00The visit today means that I've been able to see how things can change in a matter of months and
00:04improved when they do improve theatre times and work with clinicians.
00:09And that's exactly what we're looking to do. So the plan that we're putting together to bring down waiting lists
00:14in Wales is led by clinicians.
00:16So we're injecting £145 million into bringing those waiting lists down.
00:21£100 million will be used to improve diagnostics, improve the pathways and bring the 24 month weight down.
00:27And then we've got £25 million, which is in capital, to develop elective care hubs within this period and bring
00:36down some of the backlog that we've got in the NHS when it comes to that waiting list space.
00:41So there's two elements to this. First of all, we will be bringing those 24 month weights down in a
00:46matter of months by working at pace with clinicians.
00:51But we're also injecting money earlier on into the process so that people don't have to languish on waiting lists
00:57for months so that we validate those waiting lists.
00:59We identify who needs to be on which pathway and where and that we diagnose them quicker because we know
01:05that earlier diagnosis means better outcomes.
01:07In terms of the hubs you mentioned earlier, where will those be located? Has your government already got plans to
01:14develop those? And how quickly can we see them?
01:16Yeah, so this is going to be clinically led. So nobody out there wants a politician to say that we're
01:22going to have a new herb in a certain town if it's not in the interests of patients.
01:26That's why we're forming a group of experts in the field, clinicians and others, who will advise us.
01:32And I'm waiting for their lead. We will be announcing soon the makeup of that executive group.
01:39And they will advise us based on clinical evidence where those herbs will be placed.
01:43The First Minister earlier this week made some comments about finances being a bit tighter than expected or anticipated.
01:51Is your government still confident that it can deliver on the pledges made in the election campaign?
01:56Yes, so finances are tight. It's a legacy of what we've been left by the previous administration.
02:01But we are confident that looking forward, we will make our manifesto pledges work.
02:07We will commit to them and ensure that people see improvements in their outcomes.
02:11So yes, I am confident that we can deliver on our prices.
02:14Last week, the First Minister also refused to promise that all nursing graduates would be getting jobs in Wales.
02:20Is your government concerns that talented graduates might want to work abroad because of this?
02:25Yes, we are concerned about that. And when it was announced in April that a number of students wouldn't be
02:31able to find placements here in Wales,
02:33I was concerned and I said that I would convene a summit of all parties to discuss this and find
02:39a solution to as many of these nurses and midwives and paramedics as possible,
02:44but more importantly, to find a solution for the long term.
02:46And we've got that summit being convened, talking to people in the sector who are representative bodies who work in
02:53the field so that we don't reach this position again
02:56and try and find as many positions for these students as possible.
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