38 organisations call on political parties to commit to four priorities for health and social care ahead of the Senedd election

38 organisations from the Welsh NHS Confederation Health and Wellbeing Alliance, which spans the breadth of the public, private and voluntary sectors, have endorsed four collective priorities for the next Welsh Government to commit to ahead of the Senedd election in May 2026.

These centre around prevention; care, treatment and support; the health and social care workforce and infrastructure in the health and social care system. 

The alliance calls on the next First Minister to allocate a ring-fenced budget to prevention and galvanise departments across the next Welsh Government to tackle inequalities and the wider determinants of health. This involves supporting the public to become active partners in their own health and wellbeing through improved access to resources, activities, screening, tests and vaccines.

With many of the endorsing organisations representing staff or patients, there’s a focus on empowering staff to work with the voluntary sector, patients and unpaid carers to redesign services, improve patient experiences and outcomes, while ensuring equal access. This includes delivering care in the best place for the patient, should this be at home, in the community or in a specialist centre where required. 

Chair of the Welsh NHS Confederation Health and Wellbeing Alliance and assistant director of the Welsh NHS Confederation, Nesta Lloyd-Jones, said:

“Political parties and candidates lining up to form the next Welsh Government must take heed of these calls that aim to respond to and improve the challenging situation our systems, organisations, staff and patients find themselves in. We all want the same thing – for the people of Wales to live better, healthier lives and to build resilient communities – and we must not miss the opportunity this election brings to make this happen.”

Derek Walker, the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, commented:

"We desperately need to focus on prevention if we are to have a healthier Wales where we act on root causes and avoid more people living lives in ill health. Calls in the Health and Wellbeing Alliance election manifesto chime with my recommendations in the Future Generations Report 2025 I published in April and my own strategy, Cymru Can. 

"I support in particular the challenge for greater emphasis on prevention because long-term health trends are going in the wrong direction and will overwhelm our health services if we do not take action now.” 

Jon Antoniazzi, Marie Curie’s associate director for policy & public affairs, Wales said: 
“Marie Curie campaigns to ensure that everyone has the care and support they need at the end of life. While there are specific actions needed to transform end of life care in Wales, that will only be possible if we strengthen our entire health and social care system. This is why we are pleased to support the calls from the Health and Wellbeing Alliance, in particular the need to transition to more accessible care, treatment and support and to invest in NHS and social care digital infrastructure.” 

About the Welsh NHS Confederation Health and Wellbeing Alliance

The Welsh NHS Confederation Health and Wellbeing Alliance (HAWA) has representatives from the NHS, local government, healthcare, social care, patient organisations and the professions. The HAWA aims to be a collaborative independent voice, able to identify and seeking to address issues affecting the health, social care, wellbeing and the integration agenda, and its impact on people across Wales.

About us

We are the membership organisation that brings together, supports and speaks for the whole healthcare system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The members we represent employ 1.5 million staff, care for more than 1 million patients a day and control £150 billion of public expenditure. We promote collaboration and partnership working as the key to improving population health, delivering high-quality care and reducing health inequalities.