NEW NHS funding must be matched by proper workforce planning if it is to cut waiting lists and improve patient care, nursing leaders have warned.

The Royal College of Nursing Wales has responded to a Welsh Government announcement of an additional £145 million investment in NHS Wales.

The package includes £100 million in revenue funding to reduce waiting times, £25 million capital funding for new surgical and diagnostic hubs, and £20 million for essential maintenance across the NHS estate.

The Welsh Government says the investment is intended to increase capacity, speed up diagnosis and help more patients receive planned treatment more quickly.

Up to ten surgical and diagnostic hubs are expected to be developed across Wales over the next four years. These facilities are designed to carry out high-volume planned treatment and tests away from the day-to-day pressure of emergency hospital care.

But RCN Wales said the success of the plan would depend not only on buildings and equipment, but on having enough trained staff to run the services safely.

Nicola Williams, Executive Director of RCN Wales, said: “RCN Wales welcomes this additional investment in NHS Wales and the Welsh Government’s commitment to reducing waiting times and improving patient care and outcomes.

“Investment in surgical and diagnostic hubs, alongside funding for essential maintenance, has the potential to significantly improve our population’s health, reduce delays, improve experiences and increase NHS capacity.

“However, buildings and equipment alone will not reduce waiting lists. Delivering sustainable improvements depends on having the right, appropriately trained and skilled workforce in place, and nurses will play a pivotal role in the provision of safe, effective and efficient care.”

She said robust workforce modelling and planning would be “critically important” if the hubs were to achieve their ambitions.

The announcement comes as RCN Wales joins healthcare leaders, employers and government representatives at a Graduate Summit to discuss employment opportunities for this year’s nursing graduates.

RCN Wales said it welcomed the Welsh Government’s focus on the issue, but warned that newly qualified nurses had faced uncertainty about securing permanent employment despite continuing pressure across NHS services.

Ms Williams said: “Nursing staff are telling us consistently and across Wales that, despite there being no vacancies, there is insufficient staff to meet increasing patient complexity and demand.

“Nurses are going without breaks and feel most shifts that they are unable to give the care that patients need.

“It is therefore deeply concerning that newly qualified nurses have faced uncertainty about securing substantive employment.

“Wales cannot afford to lose the talent, skills and commitment of a generation of nursing graduates that our health and care services desperately need.”

RCN Wales said retaining newly qualified nurses was essential for the future sustainability of NHS and social care services.

The union also welcomed the Welsh Government’s commitment to strengthening primary and community care, but said any shift towards treating people closer to home must be matched by investment in the nursing workforce.

Ms Williams added: “Nurses are central to delivering care closer to home and helping people stay healthier for longer.

“Any shift in resources towards primary care must be matched by investment in the nursing workforce needed to deliver these ambitions.”

The key question for west Wales is whether any of the proposed surgical or diagnostic hubs will be located in the Hywel Dda area, and whether Pembrokeshire patients will see a direct benefit from the new funding.

No specific locations have yet been confirmed.

RCN Wales said it looked forward to working with the Welsh Government and health service partners to ensure the investment delivered lasting improvements for patients and supported the nursing workforce on which those improvements depend.

Pembrokeshire ports and Celtic Sea projects placed at centre of Wales’ green energy ambitions

MILFORD HAVEN and Pembroke Dock could be at the heart of a new offshore wind boom after Wales’ new energy minister said the sector could drive jobs, investment and coastal regeneration.

Adam Price, the Cabinet Minister for Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy, told the Global Offshore Wind 2026 conference that Wales was “open for business” and ready to work with industry, the UK Government and The Crown Estate.

For Pembrokeshire, the announcement is particularly significant. The Milford Haven Waterway is already being positioned as a key base for floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea, with Pembroke Port earmarked as a major renewables hub. Plans for a dedicated floating offshore wind storage compound at Pembroke Dock have already secured planning permission.

Mr Price said: “I believe that the offshore wind sector has the potential to deliver high quality sustainable career opportunities for people in Wales.

“The offshore wind sector has a key role to play in bringing about the regeneration of coastal communities in both north and south Wales.

“Our role is to remove the blockers faced by the sector — whether in planning, access to finance or infrastructure.”

The Celtic Sea floating wind programme is expected to create major supply chain opportunities for Welsh ports, engineering firms, vessel operators and training providers. Marine Energy Wales has said the first 4.5GW of floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea could create more than 5,300 jobs during construction.

The Port of Milford Haven has previously said the Haven’s existing energy expertise, heavy engineering base and deep-water port facilities make it well placed to support the industry.

Mr Price also welcomed UK Government support for Port Talbot, but Pembrokeshire businesses will be watching closely to ensure Milford Haven and Pembroke Dock receive a fair share of the investment.

Jessica Hooper, Director of RenewableUK Cymru, said offshore wind was “Wales’ next big industrial opportunity”, adding that it could be worth almost £5bn to Welsh businesses and deliver more than 3,000 long-term secure jobs.

For Milford Haven, long associated with oil, gas and marine industry, floating offshore wind could mark the next chapter in the Haven’s energy story.

Darren Millar says taxpayers’ money should be spent on Welsh priorities, not foreign projects

THE WELSH GOVERNMENT has been urged to stop spending taxpayers’ money on overseas projects and instead focus every pound on public services and the Welsh economy.

Darren Millar MS, Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, said ministers should scrap what he described as costly international schemes and overseas offices, arguing that the money would be better spent on hospitals, roads and businesses in Wales.

The Conservatives have repeatedly criticised Welsh Government spending on international projects, including tree planting in Nigeria, solar-powered canoes in the Amazon, and the maintenance of overseas offices.

Mr Millar said the Welsh Government had no responsibility for foreign policy and should concentrate on devolved priorities.

He said: “At a time when patients are being treated in hospital corridors, our road infrastructure is creaking and businesses are taxed to the hilt, it is simply wrong that Welsh taxpayers’ money is being wasted on overseas vanity projects.

“The first duty of the Welsh Government is to the people it serves. Plaid’s Finance Minister is being evasive over how to fund flagship policies, but could save millions of pounds by scrapping wasteful spending on non-devolved areas.

“Tree-planting schemes in Africa, solar-powered canoe projects in the Amazon and the maintenance of Welsh Government offices in exotic locations around the world, including three in China, represent spending on non-devolved areas, which are the responsibility of the UK Government.

“There’s no such thing as government money, only taxpayers’ money, and we should be able to see how every penny is spent.

“The Welsh Government must prioritise the needs of the people of Wales and focus spending on public services and building a stronger economy.”