A debate was held in the Senedd this week calling for the declaration of a health emergency in Wales, following figures showing over 38,000 people have died while waiting for NHS treatment since the 2021 Senedd election.
A motion, tabled by the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd calling for the declaration of a health emergency in Wales was debated this week, following figures showing over 38,000 people have died while waiting for NHS treatment since the 2021 Senedd election.
The motion reaffirmed the principle that the Welsh NHS should always remain free at the point of delivery, publicly funded, and not replaced by an insurance-based system. However, the Conservatives highlighted the scale of the crisis facing patients with waiting lists having grown by around a third since Labour signed a Cooperation Agreement with Plaid Cymru. The motion called for urgent steps including new guarantees on waiting times, a comprehensive workforce plan, more surgical hubs, and a cancer action plan.
Montgomeryshire MS, Russell George who supported the motion, used the debate to focus on the specific challenges facing patients in Powys. He raised an example of a Powys resident who had contacted him after receiving a letter from the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Oswestry. The letter from the Trusts CEO stated that Welsh commissioners had advised them not to offer a first outpatient appointment until patients had been waiting close to 52 weeks.
Mr George read parts of the letter to Senedd Members which said that his constituent would be seen much quicker if they lived in England. The Hospital has the capacity to see the patients much sooner but cannot because of the financial situation in Wales said Mr George. He went on to say that English hospitals are also frustrated by this policy.
He finished by saying this has created a two-tier system where English patients are seen quicker while treatment is deliberately delayed for Welsh patients waiting for treatment in the very same hospitals.
The Welsh Government recently made £120 million available to eliminate two-year waits, Mr George pointed out that none of this additional funding would help Powys patients who are waiting for treatment in English hospitals.
Commenting, Mr George said:
‘’Our health services in Wales have been in crisis for years. Over 38,000 people have tragically died while waiting for treatment on a Welsh NHS waiting list. Thousands more are waiting, often in pain for treatment. In England, two years waits were eliminated years ago.
‘’Powys residents are being told they must wait up to 104 weeks for treatment, even though hospitals across the border could treat them much sooner. Providers in England do not want this inequality, and neither do my constituents. Powys patients should not be treated as second-class citizens.
‘’The Welsh Government must step in and ensure health boards are funded to purchase capacity in England based on English waiting time targets. Only then will this unfairness end and give Welsh patients the timely care they deserve.’’