Lib Dems Slam Latest NHS Wales Statistics as ‘Obscene’

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have slammed the Welsh Labour Government over the latest NHS Wales statistics, describing extortionate treatment waiting lists and ambulance waiting times as ‘obscene’.

The Party has called on the Welsh Labour Government to go further and faster with reforms and to put in place real binding targets when it comes to reducing waiting lists.

They have also called on the UK Government to ensure Wales gets its fair share of funding from the upcoming UK Government budget to tackle the crisis in the NHS and social care.

The latest statistics for Powys show that 48% of amber ambulance calls are not answered within an hour, the category includes strokes and heart attacks.

The data also shows a staggering 52% of red calls, which deal with the most serious and life-threatening injuries, are not attended to within the 8-minute target time.

Both metrics have seen a further deterioration from last month.

Across Wales, the number of people on an NHS waiting list has reached over 800,000. A staggering figure given Wales’s total population is just 3.1 million. The figure is the highest on record.

Within Powys, 1,517 patients have been waiting over a year while 173 patients have been waiting over two years. However, these figures are likely to be a significant undercount as many Powys residents receive elective treatment outside of Powys.

Labour has come under fire in recent weeks for announcing a plan to use English hospitals to help reduce Welsh waiting lists, only then to walk back the announcement after it was revealed by opposition parties and the press that no details of such a plan currently exist.

Responding to the latest stats, Liberal Democrat Senedd Member Jane Dodds said:

“These latest figures are truly obscene. It is outrageous that Labour has allowed us to get to the point where 800,000 people in a country of 3 million are stuck on a waiting list.

“For the entirety of this Senedd term, Labour has been promising to tackle the crisis in our NHS yet waiting lists have continued to get worse and worse. We need a different approach.

“We need real tangible targets to drive down waiting lists, the current situation is costing lives, and it cannot go on.”

Adding his comment, Liberal Democrat MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe David Chadwick said:

“The current situation is intolerable. Week in and week out we hear horror stories from constituents who have had to deal with the impacts of long ambulance waiting times or who are stuck languishing on waiting lists.

“We need to fix social care and access to GPs to help take the pressure off of our A&E departments. The Welsh Liberal Democrats will be fighting for extra funding for Wales at the upcoming UK and Welsh Government budgets in order to tackle this crisis.”

ENDS

NOTES FOR EDITORS:

·       The latest stats on red category calls are here.

·       The latest stats on amber category calls are here.

·       The latest stats on elective treatment waiting times are here.

·       Cancer treatment waiting times are not recorded for Powys as cancer is always treated outside of the county.