Building the health and wellbeing of the nation: the Welsh NHS Confederation's calls for the 2026 Senedd election
Following a survey of 95 of our members – NHS leaders across Wales including chairs, vice chairs, chief executives and executive directors – this document puts forward five significant changes the next Welsh Government must make to build the health and wellbeing of the nation and ensure the sustainability of the health and social care system.
Our mission is to build the health and wellbeing of the nation, supported by high-quality health and social care services and a partnership-led approach to population health and wellbeing that embraces the public, private and third sectors.
To achieve this, the next Welsh Government must focus on five areas of transformation:
Prevention
Deliver a cross-government national strategy to improve health and wellbeing and reduce inequalities
This will shift the focus from simply treating illness to promoting health and wellbeing, reducing inequalities and tackling the wider determinants of health, boosting economic growth and supporting people to be active partners in their own health and wellbeing.
Workforce
Invest in a long-term plan for the NHS and social care workforce and their education
This will enable the implementation of multi-professional, digitally enabled, motivated, engaged and valued workforce across the NHS and social care.
Performance and financial frameworks
Publish a joint health and social care performance and financial framework for seamless care and support
This framework should emphasise prevention, effective treatment and timely support for individuals, and be measured consistently across health and social care, support joined up models of care and provide care closer to home.
Social care
Establish an independent rapid review to develop a long-term agreement on the sustainability of the social care system
The review must address system-wide challenges and stabilise the social care system through sustainable funding and resourcing, considering workforce pay and conditions, access to publicly funded care and transparency and consistency around the collection and reporting of social care data.
Estates and infrastructure
Launch a long-term capital and infrastructure strategy
Investing in the entire NHS and social care infrastructure, including buildings, equipment and digital infrastructure; but also leveraging technological and research advancements including genomics and AI. This will enable the NHS and social care to drive efficiency, productivity and sustainability, while improving patient outcomes and the physical working environment for staff.
