New figures obtained via Freedom of Information requests have shown that there were over 150 dismissals within the Hywel Dda University Health Board in the last five years.

The figures also show that, since 2017, at least 740 NHS staff in Wales have been dismissed in the last five years.

Because of the way in which statistics were presented by some of the health boards, the figures could actually be over the 1,000 mark.

With treatment waiting lists now at a record high, concerns have been voiced over 'money wasted on training people who are not appropriate for posts within the Welsh health service'.

The Freedom of Information requests were made by the Welsh Conservatives.

The figures show that 255 of the dismissals were at North Wales’ Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board, 244 at Cardiff & Vale Health Board, and 10 in the Powys Health Board.

Due to data protection rules, other health boards provided data in ways where figures are only presentable as a range.

There were 159-229 dismissals in Hywel Dda Health Board which covers Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion; 41-138 in Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board, 18-76 in Gwent’s Aneurin Bevan Health Board, and 13-65 at Swansea Bay Health Board.

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The Welsh Conservatives' shadow health minister, Russell George, said: “It is vital that the people of Wales receive the best healthcare available to them and malpractice is dealt with properly, but I am concerned with just how high these figures are, especially when there will have been significant cost on hiring, training, and firing these people – all wasted.

“With a record backlog where one in four patients are waiting over a year and 60,000 people waiting more than two years, we need as many staff available to make progress on this and end the cost-of-pain crisis.

“People will be asking why the numbers are so large, whether the standards we set on new entrants are high enough, and why they are slipping to the extent that we have seen, hundreds of dismissals across the last five years.

“The Labour-run NHS has thousands of staffing vacancies and this will only be making things worse. The Labour Government need to get a grip on the NHS and stop breaking all the wrong records.”