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More than half a billion pounds of new funding has been pumped into health and social care in Wales to help the sector recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

Of the funding, £411m will go towards the ongoing costs of dealing with the pandemic, such as the vaccination programme, testing and PPE.

A further £140m to be spent on reducing waiting times.

Of the £140m, £100m will go to health boards to help with their recovery plans, while £40m will be spent on equipment, as well as adapting hospitals to increase capacity for routine procedures.

The funding is in addition to the £100m announced by the Welsh Government in May as part of its Health and Social Services Covid Recovery Plan.

Wales’ Health Minister, Eluned Morgan, said Wales is “still facing significant costs” in dealing with the pandemic.

Mrs Morgan said: “The knock-on effect from dealing with the pandemic has also been huge. Waiting lists have increased by more than 33% and are now at record levels.

“Getting back to where we were before the pandemic is going to take a lot of time and investment in new ways of working.”

She added: “I recognise it is a huge task just to get back to where we were before the pandemic.

“However, we must also grasp this opportunity to adopt new ways of working and create a sustainable health and social care system that can meet the demands of the future.”

Finance and Local Government Minister, Rebecca Evans, said: “The funding is part of a wider package of funding which will be spent over the coming months to help us build the fairer, greener, stronger and ever more successful Wales that we all want for ourselves and for each other.”

Darren Hughes, Director of the Welsh NHS Confederation, welcomed the funding.

Meanwhile, Plaid Cymru’s health spokesman, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS, called on the Welsh Government to increase provision of mental health services.

He said: “We know that access to mental health provision was already seriously lacking before the pandemic and whilst Covid-19 may have added to the challenges, this is not a new problem.

“Without a serious gear change we will be facing a mental health crisis in the middle of a public health crisis. This is unacceptable, it is having a detrimental effect on people’s wellbeing and quality of life, and must be addressed urgently.

“The Welsh Government either needs to increase provision of this service or provide signposts to the alternative services that are available.”