NHS Wales Workforce Strategy: RCP Cymru Wales Welcomes Plan 2026

Key Points

• RCP Cymru Wales welcomes the Welsh Government’s plan to create a new long‑term NHS Wales workforce strategy.
• The commitment was presented in a statement to the Senedd on 3 November 2026 by Cabinet Minister for Health and Care Mabon ap Gwynfor MS.
• The Welsh Government published the statement on 4 November 2026. Said a final workforce strategy would reach the Senedd in the new year.
• RCP Cymru Wales wants physicians to have a role in shaping the strategy and says the strategy must address pressures across the whole health and care system.
• Professor Sam Rice, vice‑president for RCP Cymru Wales said workforce shortages were hurting safe and timely care adding to burnout and pressures such as corridor care.
• The college said strengthening community care must not come at the cost of secondary care and hospital capacity.
• RCP Cymru Wales linked the strategy to the Welsh Government’s Community by Design programme saying new models of care need workforce planning from the outset.
• The Welsh NHS Confederation welcomed the long‑term health ambitions but warned that delivery would need realistic funding and cross‑party support beyond 2030.
• The Welsh Government’s Programme for Government 2026–2030 includes a commitment to raise the number of GPs by, up to 100 and to support working and professional development.

Wales (Wales Times) November 5, 2026 — RCP Cymru Wales has welcomed the Welsh Government’s plans for a long-term NHS Wales workforce strategy, while urging ministers to ensure that physicians and frontline clinicians help shape the final plan.

The Royal College of Physicians’ Welsh body responded after Cabinet Minister for Health and Care Mabon ap Gwynfor MS made an oral statement in the Senedd on 3 November 2026 on a new long-term workforce strategy for NHS Wales. The Welsh Government published the statement on its website on 4 November 2026.

In its response, RCP Cymru Wales said it welcomed the minister’s commitment to develop a new long-term workforce plan and the opportunity for further engagement before publication early next year. The organisation said the plan should be clinically led, based on patient need and shaped by the expertise of those delivering care.

What has RCP Cymru Wales said?

Professor Sam Rice, joint vice-president for RCP Cymru Wales, said the college welcomed the health minister’s commitment and the chance for further engagement before the strategy is published. As reported in the RCP’s statement, Professor Rice said:

“It is vital that the plan is clinically led, based on patient need and shaped by the expertise of those delivering care.”

Professor Rice said physicians across Wales had reported that workforce pressures were affecting their ability to provide safe and timely care. He said there were not enough staff in the right places to meet growing demand, contributing to burnout and pressures such as corridor care.

The RCP Cymru Wales statement said Wales needed a workforce plan that looked across the whole health and care system. It said that, as more people live longer with multiple and increasingly complex medical conditions, strengthening primary and community care was essential but should not come at the expense of secondary care.

“Hospitals will continue to care for patients with the most acute and complex needs, and we must ensure they have the workforce and capacity to do so safely,” Professor Rice said in the RCP statement.

What did the health minister announce?

Mabon ap Gwynfor MS, the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care, set out the Welsh Government’s plans in a statement titled “Long-term NHS Wales Workforce Strategy” during Senedd plenary on 3 November 2026. The Welsh Government’s record of the session lists the statement as item five in that afternoon’s business.

According to the official Senedd record, Mr ap Gwynfor told Members that, when he became Cabinet Minister for Health and Care, he committed to developing a long-term strategy to address key workforce challenges facing the health service in Wales. The record also notes that he updated Members on this work during the session.

As reported by Deeside.com, Mr ap Gwynfor said cancer was among the areas of work that would shape future services. The report stated that he said: “Community by Design and our work on cancer, mental health, women’s health and digital transformation will shape how and where care is provided.”

Deeside.com further reported that Mr ap Gwynfor intended to bring a final workforce strategy to the Senedd in the new year. The report said no date was given for a separate long-term cancer plan.

How does the strategy fit wider NHS plans?

The workforce announcement forms part of a broader Welsh Government approach to health and care reform. In a separate Welsh Government statement published on 4 November 2026, Mr ap Gwynfor called on health and care leaders across Wales to look beyond organisational boundaries and work together to improve services.

The Welsh Government said health and care leaders were being asked to work together to improve outcomes and reduce inequalities. It said a new period of engagement would help shape a shared vision for the future of health and care, with the Welsh Government working with health boards over the coming months.

In remarks quoted by the Welsh Government, Mr ap Gwynfor said: “If we want different outcomes for the people of Wales and an NHS that remains sustainable for generations to come, doing more of the same is not an option.”

He added that the government’s ambition was for more people to live longer lives, spend more of those lives in good health, and remain independent in their homes and communities for longer. He described the announcement as the start of a period of engagement and collaboration, saying he wanted to hear views, expertise and ideas about how to turn the ambitions into reality.

What does Community by Design mean for staffing?

RCP Cymru Wales said Community by Design represented a significant opportunity to change how care is delivered in Wales, but said those ambitions needed robust workforce planning from the beginning. The college said that if more care was to be delivered closer to home, there needed to be a clear plan for the workforce required to support new models of care while maintaining safe staffing and capacity in hospitals.

The college has previously made a similar argument in its policy work. In a separate RCP Cymru Wales statement on Community by Design, the organisation welcomed the Welsh Government’s ambition to provide more care closer to home but warned that service redesign needed continued investment in the medical workforce, digital infrastructure, and hospital and specialist services.

That earlier RCP statement said moving care into community settings did not remove the need for specialist expertise, staff or resources. It argued that Community by Design required a “workforce by design”, with workforce planning and service redesign developed together.

Professor Rice said in the latest statement that RCP Cymru Wales stood ready to work with the Welsh Government and other partners to help shape the work. He said the aim should be to ensure patients receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time.

What have NHS leaders said?

The announcement has also drawn a response from NHS leaders in Wales. As reported by Nation.Cymru staff, the Welsh NHS Confederation welcomed the long-term ambitions outlined by Mr ap Gwynfor but warned that lasting improvement would require political support for difficult decisions about services.

Nation.Cymru reported that Welsh NHS Confederation director Darren Hughes said many problems facing Wales would not be resolved within a single Senedd term. Mr Hughes said cross-party support would be essential to sustain implementation beyond 2030 and provide continuity for services and the people who rely on them.

According to Nation.Cymru, Mr Hughes welcomed the strategy’s emphasis on prevention, reducing inequalities, strengthening primary and community care, and developing a sustainable social care system. However, he said the ambitions needed to reflect financial pressures.

“Given the challenging financial outlook for public services now and in the immediate future, honesty and realism from government are essential,” Mr Hughes said, as reported by Nation.Cymru. He added that the ambitions set must reflect the resources available and the support needed to deliver healthcare safely.

Nation.Cymru also reported Mr Hughes as saying that the real test of the strategy would be whether people experienced more timely access, more coordinated care, and improved health and wellbeing.

What commitments already exist?

The workforce strategy follows commitments set out in the Welsh Government’s Programme for Government 2026–2030. The programme says the government will build a sustainable and skilled workforce through a long-term workforce strategy that increases the number of GPs by up to 100, improves access to out-of-hours care, reduces pressure on hospitals and accident and emergency departments, and supports flexible working and continued professional development.

The Welsh Government had also previously indicated the timing of the work. In a written statement on NHS dentistry published on 28 July 2026, the government said it would publish a long-term workforce strategy for NHS Wales in the autumn, setting out practical actions to strengthen workforce supply, planning, retention and service sustainability over the next decade.

Earlier, in June 2026, the Welsh Government said a ten-year Digital and Data Strategy would modernise NHS infrastructure and that a long-term workforce strategy would be published in the autumn.

What does the RCP want from the plan?

RCP Cymru Wales has identified several priorities for the NHS workforce in Wales in its policy material. These include developing a national medical workforce and training strategy and providing national leadership on the balance between service delivery and training.

In its Senedd election manifesto material, the RCP called for a clinically led, long-term NHS workforce plan for health and social care. The document said such a plan should set out a new approach to recruitment and retention, consider changing working patterns and flexible working, address infrastructure, technology and the working environment, and invest in local clinical leaders to deliver service change.

The latest response from RCP Cymru Wales repeats the central argument that workforce planning should be based on patient need and clinical expertise. It also emphasises that investment in community-based care must be matched by protection for hospital services that treat patients with acute and complex conditions.

Background of the development

The long-term NHS Wales workforce strategy has been developed against a backdrop of rising demand, an ageing population, more complex health needs and persistent inequalities. The Welsh Government says these pressures mean services need to change, and it has begun a period of engagement with health boards and health and care leaders to shape future provision.

The Welsh Government’s Programme for Government 2026–2030 had already committed to a long-term workforce strategy, including measures intended to increase GP numbers, improve out-of-hours access, ease hospital and A&E pressure, and support flexible working and professional development.

RCP Cymru Wales has consistently argued that workforce sustainability requires a whole-system approach. Its previous policy response has called for closer workforce planning across health and social care, involving primary care, community care and social care in the design of clinical pathways and patient journeys.

The college has also warned that shifting care into the community does not remove the need for specialist hospital services. It has said that community models need investment in people, services and technology, alongside maintained capacity in hospitals and specialist services.

Prediction: How can this affect patients and NHS staff?

For patients in Wales, the strategy could affect how quickly they receive care and where that care is provided. If the final plan strengthens community services while protecting hospital staffing, patients may see more care delivered closer to home, while people with acute or complex conditions continue to access specialist hospital services. RCP Cymru Wales has said both elements are necessary for safe care.

For NHS staff, the plan could influence recruitment, retention, training and working patterns. The Welsh Government’s existing programme commitments include flexible working and continued professional development, while RCP Cymru Wales has called for clinically led workforce planning and attention to the balance between service delivery and training.

For physicians and other hospital staff, the college’s intervention highlights the risk that a stronger focus on community care could leave secondary care under-resourced if workforce planning is not aligned across the system. Professor Rice said workforce pressures were already contributing to burnout and corridor care, making staffing levels and hospital capacity central issues for the final strategy.

For Welsh health boards, the announcement signals a period of engagement over the coming months. The Welsh Government has said it will work with health boards to support organisations working together to improve health and care, while the Welsh NHS Confederation has warned that delivery will depend on realistic funding and cross-party support beyond 2030.