Vale of Clwyd MS, Gareth Davies MS, has warned that families across Wales are being failed by a health system in deep crisis, following a Welsh Conservative debate in the Senedd highlighting record waiting times and emergency care pressures.
Mr Davies drew attention to the latest figures from Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, which posted its worst ever month on record in January for A&E waits, with the majority of patients waiting longer than four hours and large numbers spending more than 12 hours in A&E. He argued that pressures at Glan Clwyd Hospital could have been eased years ago if the long-promised community hospital on the site of the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Rhyl had been delivered in full and on time, rather than delayed for more than a decade and scaled back to a much smaller facility.
He also highlighted the scale of waiting lists across Wales, with almost 600,000 people currently waiting for treatment and thousands waiting more than two years. In contrast, England has dramatically reduced long waits, despite having a far larger population, referencing figures obtained through freedom of information requests showing that tens of thousands of patients have died while waiting for treatment since the last Senedd election, underlining the human cost of continued delays.
He further noted that senior doctors have acknowledged the severity of the crisis in Wales, setting out the Welsh Conservatives’ proposals to declare a national health emergency, reopen closed community hospital wards, expand surgical hubs and diagnostic services, end corridor care, and introduce proper workforce planning.
Mr Davies also pointed to findings from the Bevan Commission that a significant proportion of NHS resources are wasted on unnecessary bureaucracy, duplicated paperwork and outdated IT systems, arguing that reducing red tape would free up doctors and nurses to spend more time caring for patients.
Following the debate, Gareth Davies MS said:
“Families across Wales are rightly alarmed by the state of our NHS, and the latest figures from North Wales show just how badly things have been allowed to deteriorate.
“Years of missed targets and promises of jam tomorrow have left Wales with the worst waiting times in the UK, while staff are tied up in bureaucracy instead of treating patients.
“What Wales needs now is a serious recovery plan including reopening beds, cutting red tape, expanding capacity, and supporting the workforce so our NHS can start working again for the people it serves.”
