Welsh health secretary to hold NHS to account

Welsh health secretary Jeremy Miles is aiming to improve accountability and transparency in the NHS by holding a series of public meetings.

Jeremy Miles (c) The Welsh Government

Jeremy Miles (c) The Welsh Government

The meetings will be open to the public to view online to give an insight into discussions between the cabinet secretary and health boards about how the NHS is run in Wales.

They will focus on how the NHS is meeting waiting times targets; their financial position and outlook; and quality and safety.

Miles said: ‘I want people to have confidence in the standards of healthcare and the performance of health organisations where they live.

‘I want to open the doors to the NHS and increase confidence in the system.'

Public accountability meetings will be held with each health board and with Velindre University NHS Trust, Digital Health and Care Wales, Health Education and Improvement Wales, Public Health Wales and Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust before the end of March 2026. The first meeting will be held on 23 October with Cwm Taf University Health Board.

Miles has also set out a series of other steps to improve transparency and accountability in the NHS:

  • More NHS performance data is published than ever before, including a quarterly report about how health boards are performing against key emergency and planned care measures and provisional figures for the longest waits for the latest full calendar month.
  • The Welsh Ambulance Service's clinical model has been reformed and contains more meaningful outcome-based measures.

Miles added: ‘If we're going to improve the NHS in Wales, we need to ensure organisations are open and honest, use data to improve their performance and make this publicly available, and listen to people who use their services and can learn from their mistakes.'

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