Speaking at today’s Welsh Conservative Conference, North Wales MS Mark Isherwood said that the NHS in Wales is broken because of 26 years of wasteful spending and incompetence by the Labour Welsh Government.
Addressing the Conference at Llangollen Pavilion, Mr Isherwood criticised Ministers in Cardiff Bay for “wasting millions on pet projects such as the 20mph speed limit and Cardiff Airport”.
He also slammed Plaid Cymru who he said have “repeatedly propped up Labour Welsh Governments, culminating in the £120 million expansion of the Senedd, the Welsh Parliament, when what we really need is more Doctors, nurses, dentists and teachers”.
He said:
“This waste could instead fund early intervention in primary care, support our overstretched GPs, and strengthen the charities delivering so much for so little.
“Let’s be clear: our NHS in Wales is not just under pressure, it’s at breaking point.
“Cancer treatment targets are missed. Ambulances queue for hours outside hospitals. Staff morale is low. And patients suffer.
“Winter is particularly frightening for older people in Wales, knowing they could be stuck in an ambulance waiting many hours for treatment.”
Mr Isherwood spoke about failings at Wrexham Maelor Hospital, which he experienced first-hand when he was a patient himself.
He said:
“A Flintshire constituent recently wrote to me about the state of Wrexham Maelor Hospital, saying that he ‘found the Consultants and Doctors excellent’, but then described poor emergency care, overworked staff, and inadequate facilities.
“As he put it, ‘There is no benefit in just throwing money at a broken system’.
“Unfortunately, I experienced this firsthand when I spent New Year’s Eve in Wrexham Maelor’s A&E– and not the for the reasons you might be thinking! The staff were brilliant, but the system was clearly breaking.”
Mr Isherwood also referred to “the disastrous impact of the UK Labour Government’s National Insurance hike”.
He said:
“The Wales Council for Voluntary Action said they are ‘deeply concerned’ about the added burden.
“Charities already face massive financial pressures and this threatens their ability to serve communities.
“I Chair the Senedd Cross-Party on Hospice and Palliative Care. The 16 charitable hospices operating in every Welsh Health Board face tough decisions.
“They deliver essential care to over 20,000 people each year—most of it funded through charitable donations. Yet, despite calls for urgent Welsh Government funding to cover the impact of hospice costs, every hospice is forecasting a deficit this year.
“If they are forced to cut services, the NHS simply cannot fill the gap.”
Mr Isherwood said that successive Labour Welsh Health Ministers covered up the failings of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board “by burying the facts, passing the buck, and bullying whistle-blowers”.
Referring to GP Practices, he said they are “not only a local lifeline for patients, but also alleviate pressures on Welsh Hospitals, saving costs for Health Boards”, and criticised Labour Ministers for failing “to listen to their repeated warnings about how cuts in their share of the Welsh Health budget have impacted the service they provide”.
Referring to charities and community groups, he said they “deliver essential health and social care services and reduce pressure on statutory services. But, despite warm words from Labour, these groups are starved of funding. This dumb budgeting generates inefficiencies and higher public service costs”.
He added:
“Real change is needed and we will only fix this if we learn from Labour’s mistakes over 26 years and instead:
- Deliver real early intervention and prevention
- Replace central control with local flexibility
- remove restrictions on cross-community, cross-border and cross-sector capacity sharing
- develop genuine partnerships with charities and the third sector
- bridge the gap between health and social care
- implement sustainable workforce planning
- And introduce proper accountability for performance
“Only the Welsh Conservatives have the experience to fix the Welsh NHS after what will have been 27 years of arrogant, bullying and incompetent Labour Welsh Government.”