The Welsh Government has announced £28 million to help cut the longest NHS waiting times.
The funding will be used to pay for more evening and weekend appointments and regional working and will target waiting times in specialties such as orthopaedics, ophthalmology, general surgery and gynaecology.
Health boards will also be freeing up outpatient appointments for new patients by reducing the number of automatic follow-ups in cases where they are not needed.
It is hoped that the interventions will cut the number of people waiting more than two years for treatment, waiting times for a first outpatient appointment and ensure more people receive diagnostic tests in eight weeks.
Cabinet secretary for health and social care Jeremy Miles said: "Reducing waiting times is a national priority – for people across Wales, for us and the NHS. This new funding will be used by health boards to deliver a range of schemes that will start almost immediately.
"They will target the longest waits in orthopaedics, general surgery, ophthalmology and gynaecology by increasing capacity for more people to be seen and treated through overtime and more regional working.
"The NHS is working very hard to reduce the backlog, which built up during the pandemic – this is additional funding, over and above the recovery money we make available every year, to support the NHS to cut the longest waits and improve access to planned care."
Nevill Hall Hospital, in Abergavenny will become a regional centre for cataracts and is one of those poised to tackle long waits.
Nicola Prygodzicz, CEO of Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said: "We are incredibly grateful to the Welsh Government for this significant investment, which will make a real difference in reducing waiting times for patients across Gwent.
"We are committed to using the additional resources effectively to address the longest waits, particularly in high-demand areas such as orthopaedics and ophthalmology.
"This investment supports our continued efforts to provide timely, high-quality care for our communities."
