Plaid accuses Labour of burying head in sand as they fail to get to grips with nhs crisis

Plaid Cymru will call on the Labour Government to declare a health emergency in Wales, urging clear direction and strategy to get a handle on Health Boards

Labour must declare a health emergency and set out a clear timescale to de-escalate intervention arrangements in every Health Board, Plaid Cymru has said.

Accusing Labour of failing to get to grips with the crisis facing the NHS, the party’s health spokesperson in the Senedd Mabon ap Gwynfor MS urged the Welsh Government to set a clear direction to tackle the escalation status of all of Wales’ health boards.

Plaid Cymru will today (Wednesday 7 February) lead a debate on the crisis facing the whole of NHS Wales.

A year ago, the Labour Government set out its priorities for the NHS in Wales.

Since then, patients waiting for treatment have increased by tens of thousands, more are waiting over 62 days to begin cancer treatment, and the number of GPs in Wales is declining.

After announcing in late 2023 that all health board were put into some form of intervention status, three health boards out of seven have recently been subject to further escalation status.

Plaid Cymru’s Mabon ap Gwynfor argued that the NHS needs “clear direction” rather sticking plaster solutions and “chucking money at a problem and hoping it will go away”.

Plaid Cymru spokesperson for Health, Mabon ap Gwynfor MS said,

“Despite the heroic efforts of NHS staff across Wales to give the best care they can under challenging circumstances, the NHS under Labour is on its knees.

“Over half of patients wait more than two months to begin treatment for cancer, more people are waiting longer than four hours to be seen in A&E, the number of GPs is rapidly declining, and every single health board in Wales is in some form of intervention status.

“While we agree that Wales’s financial settlement from London is insufficient to meet its needs, the Labour Government too often throw good money after bad when it comes to the NHS. Only weeks have passed since they announced £14million for the Grange Hospital to improve patient safety – a brand new hospital which only opened its doors in 2020. You couldn’t make it up.

“After decades of mismanaging the NHS, this Labour government is out of ideas. The irony is that while their colleagues in Westminster criticise the UK Government for continuing to pour money into the NHS instead of being strategic in getting to grips with its problems, Labour in Wales are doing the very same.

“People across Wales deserve better than a government with its head buried in the sand unable to face up to the severity of the situation.

“Plaid Cymru urge Labour to admit that health services across Wales are in crisis by declaring a health emergency, and set out a clear timescale to de-escalate intervention arrangements in every Health Board.

“We need clear direction and strategy rather than Labour simply chucking money at a problem hoping it will go away.”