Originally published by Shane Brennan on Daily Post online, available here: http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/betsi-cadwaladr-waitin…
Tory AM Janet Finch-Saunders says scores of patients waiting more than 100 weeks for 'urgent' treatmen
Health services in North Wales have been "getting worse" since the Welsh Government stepped in to rescue the failing Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.
It was put under government supervision in June 2015 but according to Aberconwy AM Janet Finch-Saunders patients are still being let down as waiting times grow.
She said: “Since the Welsh Labour Government took Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board into special measures, the number of patients waiting over 36 weeks for treatment has risen by 983% in orthodontics, 388% in anaesthetics, and 267% in cardio-thoracic surgery.
“Given that the Welsh Government seems so patently incapable of improving the performance of the beleaguered health board, perhaps it should be up to Assembly Members – possibly via an emergency committee – to performance manage the Welsh Government.”
She added: “The systematic failure of Welsh Labour in government is evident in the crisis facing our healthcare system – one in seven are lingering on a waiting list, and 127 patients are currently left waiting more than 105 weeks for treatment they urgently need.
“It isn’t hard to see why the Nuffield Trust has said that these lengthening waiting times should ‘set alarm bells ringing’ for policy makers.
“I am approached almost daily by constituents concerned about the length of time they are forced to wait for vital operations and treatments.
But a spokesman for Health Secretary Vaughan Gething hit back, blaming cuts by the Conservative Government in Westminster for the service’s problems.
“Not only is it insulting to our hard-working staff to talk of a crisis, but it’s plain wrong.
“This winter, the time when the Welsh NHS is under greatest pressure, our NHS continued to improve. This simply isn’t the case in England.
“The Tory underfunding of health and social care in England has led to a crisis in social care that means councils are having to put up council tax by as much as 15% just to keep services going.
“In Wales, Welsh Labour are making different choices. We have invested in the NHS and social care and taken tough decisions to ensure that people receive the best possible care.”
Originally published by Shane Brennan on Daily Post online, available here: http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/betsi-cadwaladr-waitin…