Cabinet secretary for health Eluned Morgan said the Six Goals programme would focus on reducing handover delays and the longest waits in emergency departments as it entered its third year.

Launched in April 2022, and backed by £25m every year, the programme has overseen the launch of the national NHS 111 Wales urgent care helpline service, the creation of 16 urgent primary care centres and 25 same day emergency care services.

Morgan said: ‘Every day thousands of people in Wales receive high-quality urgent and emergency healthcare. It's vitally important they get the right care, in the right place, the first time and that isn't always an emergency department.

‘That's why we're investing in services like 111 and urgent primary care centres through the Six Goals programme.'

NHS data shows:

• the average wait to be triaged in in major emergency departments has remained stable at around 20 minutes, despite a surge in demand
•           urgent primary care centres are helping around 11,000 people every month, with approximately 85% cared for away from emergency departments
•           around 7,500 people using same day emergency care services every month, with nearly 80% discharged home on the same day
•       the average length of hospital stay has reduced from 8.5 days to seven days
•           the national 24/7 mental health single point of contact service (NHS 111 Wales press 2) is receiving more than 6,000 calls a month.

The Wales Government said 57,000 more people had received care in the last 12 months within its four-hour target with 26,000 more people receiving a response in response within eight minutes to life-threatening 999 red calls.