Eluned Morgan shifts responsibility for record-breaking waiting times in the Welsh NHS

Mabon ap Gwynfor pointed out that over the past 25 years, six Labour frontbenchers have held the health portfolio, including the current and two former prime ministers.

Plaid Cymru’s shadow health minister said: “While we have seen different faces come and go over the summer, it is always the same old story in the health service.”

“Standards are falling, waiting times are getting longer, staff are being pushed to the limit and from the government? – nothing but repeated empty promises.”

Mr ap Gwynfor, representing Dwyfor Meironnydd, accused ministers of putting the cart before the cart by “fixating” on results without first outlining a credible path forward.

Speaking at a Plaid Cymru party debate, he criticised Eluned Morgan for pointing the finger at health board leaders, saying it was a typical example of the tendency to always blame everyone else.

Sam Rowlands, the Conservative shadow health secretary, similarly accused the First Minister of shifting responsibility onto NHS leadership.

He said: “The health authorities have a big job to do to clear these waiting lists, but a prime minister and a government cannot shirk their responsibility,”

He pointed out that the Welsh Government had previously cut the health budget and called on ministers to spend the 20 per cent extra spending in England entirely on NHS Wales.

Mr Rowlands, who represents North Wales, warned that Wales’ health service was failing in every important way, with 23,000 people on waiting lists for more than two years.

The former council leader highlighted the Darzi inquiry into the NHS in England and called for a similar independent inquiry in Wales.

Rhun ap Iorwerth also focused on the “damning” Darzi report.

He said: “Keir Starmer is right… the situation in England is catastrophic… more than 10 percent of the English population is on waiting lists. But of course in Wales it is 20 percent.”

Mr ap Iorwerth reiterated his party’s call for the Welsh Government to declare a health emergency, but accused ministers of failing to recognise the seriousness of the situation.

He asked: “If it is not an emergency, how can the situation be described?

“And how can Labour describe a situation in England as a crisis when the situation in Wales is in many ways so much worse?”

According to Ynys Môn MS, in 2012, 316 people waited a year for their first appointment; this figure now stands at over 74,000.

Jenny Rathbone, a Labour backbencher, accused the Conservatives of being unfair to Baroness Morgan by failing to recognise the “hard work” she had done as Health Secretary.

Cardiff Central MS stressed the importance of social care in the community and said hundreds of people were avoiding having to be admitted to the University Hospital of Wales in Heath, Cardiff, for medical reasons.

Plaid Cymru’s Sioned Williams accused the British government of continuing to impose austerity, saying studies had shown that poverty made people ill, so austerity was damaging people’s health.

Her party colleague Cefin Campbell warned that children and young people were suffering most from the “Welsh Government’s continued inability to reduce waiting lists”.

Mr Campbell told the Chamber that at least 8,200 children and young people have been waiting for over a year and 1,200 for at least two years.

He said: “The situation is particularly bad in Betsi Cadwaladr, where 62 percent of people under 18 have to wait more than two years. 62 percent – that’s a disgrace.”

Wales’ new Health Minister Jeremy Miles said at the debate on 18 September that reducing waiting times was at the top of his to-do list following his appointment a week earlier.

Mr Miles told the chamber that the long waiting times were a consequence of the pandemic and a decade of austerity that had “cast long shadows”.

The former Welsh Labour Party leadership candidate claimed that efforts to reduce waiting times were having an impact despite financial pressures and a significant increase in demand.

He said: “Long waiting times of over two years have fallen by 67 per cent since their peak in March 2022, and long waiting times for diagnostic tests have fallen by almost a third.

“Currently, about 3 percent of waiting lists are waiting longer than two years, compared to nearly 10 percent in March 2022.”

The Health Secretary said the Welsh Government’s stimulus plan would reduce waiting times and pointed to an extra £900 million for the NHS this year and last year.

Mr Miles, who previously held responsibility for education and the economy, recognised that there were too great disparities in productivity and performance in Wales.

Highlighting a new bulletin on waiting times, he said: “It will help us identify good performers and where health authorities need to do more to learn from those who are making the best progress.”

The Neath MS said the NHS would introduce a ‘one-stop’ approach to reduce the number of appointments required and streamline treatment processes by eliminating unnecessary steps.

Mr ap Gwynfor expressed his disappointment with the Health Minister’s response and accused Labour of continuing to pursue austerity measures and failing to find a fair funding arrangement for Wales.

Plaid Cymru’s motion was narrowly defeated by 23 votes to 24, with the Conservatives voting in favour and Labour against. The Welsh Government’s amendment to delete everything was carried.

Monthly NHS performance data released this morning show some improvements, but overall waiting lists are getting longer.

The total number of patient pathways – which includes people waiting for more than one treatment – ​​was 796,600 waiting to start treatment – ​​the highest ever recorded.

This corresponds to an estimated 616,700 people – another unpleasant record.

The number of “red” emergency calls, which involved immediate danger to life, answered within eight minutes rose by 3.6 percent to 51.8 percent compared to the previous month. However, this does not reach the target of 65 percent.

In Wales’ emergency departments, the number of patients spending less than four hours in the emergency department remained unchanged at 69.3 percent, compared to a target of 95 percent.

The health service also missed the target of no patient having to wait longer than 12 hours: 9,489 patients waited at least 12 hours, although this figure improved by 6.6 percent in August.

However, the number of patients waiting longer than a year for a first outpatient appointment has become even worse: it has increased by 2.6 percent to 76,132.

The target of 75 percent of cancer patients starting treatment within 62 days was reduced to 55 percent in July, a decrease of 1.7 percent from the previous month and 3.2 percent year-on-year.