Cut wait times for extra cash, FM warns health bosses
PA MediaThe first minister is warning Wales' health bosses they will not get extra cash for their services if they do not cut waiting times.
With NHS waiting times consistently at record levels, Eluned Morgan said health managers had to do "better" if they wanted the extra money available.
The Conservatives say the Welsh government should scrap plans to increase the number of Senedd members and put that cash into health.
Plaid Cymru accused the Welsh government of not having a "very clear direction" on the NHS.
The latest statistics, released on Thursday, showed the longest hospital waiting lists were continuing to rise.
There were 24,361 patient pathways at the end of November, an increase for a second month in a row after the Welsh government set health boards a target to cut that figure to 8,000 by March.
The overall waiting list rose to 802,268 - setting a record for a 10th month in a row.
The numbers waiting in A&E for 12 hours or more hit more than 10,800 - the second highest on record.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Any Questions? programme, broadcast from Porthcawl in Bridgend county, Morgan said: "The system is one where we, as a government, set out the parameters, we then tell the health boards what they're to do".
She said there needs to be "better management by the health boards", adding an "accountability system" ensures that "with the extra money that's gone in, they [health boards] won't get the money unless we get the outcome".
She said more cash from the UK government meant there was extra investment for the NHS and she wanted to "assure" people that waiting times would come down.
Mimms Davies, an English MP who speaks for the Conservatives at Westminster on Welsh affairs, said the first minister's words were "cold comfort".
"Everybody knows someone who is on a waiting list," she said.
Earlier this week, former first minister Mark Drakeford said Wales had too many hospitals and too many beds.
Mr Drakeford, who is now finance secretary, said Wales was "over-hospitalised" and that more money should be spent on primary care.
He said the hospital sector "sucked resources" in the health service, but most people's experience of using the NHS was via their GP surgery.
Plaid Cymru MS Sioned Williams said his and Morgan's comments showed that "there isn't a very clear direction here is there" on the NHS.
"We're getting a lot of mixed messages, and in the meantime, people are waiting in pain and discomfort. We had another record high number of people waiting on the figures that were released yesterday. They've hit record highs those waiting times every month during the First Minister's tenure so far".