SAM ROWLANDS, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, has called on the First Minister to ensure the Welsh Government puts robust targets in place to tackle NHS waiting lists.
Speaking in the Senedd, Mr Rowlands, Shadow Health Minister, and a long-time critic of the way the Welsh Government runs the NHS in Wales asked the First Minister, Eluned Morgan, what targets has the Welsh Government set for reducing NHS waiting lists.
He said: “Many of us are surprised about what we’re hearing coming from the Labour Party conference in Liverpool in recent days, and let’s remind ourselves that the First Minister in Wales and Welsh Labour are taking Conservative ideas, stating their intent to work with the UK Government on cutting waiting lists and using other sectors to ease the burden on the NHS.
“While we welcome this change of approach it’s essential that any plan put in place working with UK Government has robust targets and consequences if those targets are not met and can you outline to us what will happen if those important targets are not being met.”
The First Minister said: “We’ve made clear to health boards what our expectations for reductions in waiting times are, and they’re set out in the planned care recovery plan. And we are working with health boards to achieve these.”
Regarding working with the UK Government on cross border health care, she said there was a huge demand on the NHS and it was appropriate to look at opportunities of working together.
Mr Rowlands added.
“Obviously anything which can help ease the burden on our already under pressure NHS and reduce waiting lists is welcome but this is long overdue. This offer has been made many times by past Conservative Governments but for party political reasons this help was rejected.
“This very short sighted view quite frankly has been putting patients at risk and has led to our record breaking waiting lists here in Wales.
“I am very disappointed that the Welsh Government has not agreed to work together with the UK before, for the good of the health of people in Wales. Politics should not come into this.”