Retired consultant warns of NHS struggle in North Wales amid surge in flu cases
A retired consultant fears the NHS in North Wales will struggle to cope if “super flu” cases continue to surge due to a lack of community beds.
Jonathan Osborne, a retired consultant, has been leading the Facebook BEDS campaign to “end corridor care” in North Wales A&Es.
Mr Osborne, a former ear, nose, and throat surgeon at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, says he fears Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) will struggle to cope during flu season.
Mr Osborne’s fears have been backed by Aberconwy MS Janet Finch-Saunders, who called for an inquiry after a freedom of information (FOI) request revealed 1,027 people died waiting for treatment in North Wales’ A&E departments over two years.
His warning follows flu numbers surging across the UK, with health secretary Wes Streeting warning of “enormous” and “unprecedented” case numbers.
Whilst Public Health Wales says flu is currently at medium levels, the body is warning the “trend” is “increasing”, with experts expecting a winter surge.
North Wales’ health board is now asking people to wear masks in “all clinical areas” of its hospitals.
Mr Osborne contacted the Local Democracy Reporting Service to raise his fears A&E units would struggle to cope, with “patients dying in corridors waiting for a bed”.
He said: “Why do we find ourselves in this position? The political mantra for the past 20 years has been that old-style community hospital provision is outdated and that, with modern medicine, patients can be treated in their own homes.
“Health boards have driven the policy of closing down community beds to achieve artificial savings. The problem with this is that when patients are well enough to leave the hospital but not well enough to go home, they still need somewhere to go.
“It is clear to most of us that while a few patients can be monitored at home, in the real world, recovering patients need nursing, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy to regain their independence
“Providing this at home would be impractical and hugely expensive. The most cost-effective and practical solution is a community hospital close to home.”
Jonathan Osborne FRCS, a former ear, nose and throat surgeon at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd
In September BCUHB’s chairman acknowledged that emergency care in North Wales was “in crisis”.
In November a BCUHB board report also stated that “overcrowding” in emergency departments was “having a significantly detrimental impact” on the NHS being able to “provide safe care”.
Mr Osborne claimed: “Most senior doctors and nurses would support this solution to relieving the pressure on A&E; however, the politicians behind this twenty plus years of policy are having difficulty facing today’s reality: the strategy has failed and A&E is in crisis.
“Instead, they repeat the dogma that patients would like to be treated in their own homes, while ignoring the reality that councils have no resources to do this, and that ‘hospital at home’ for every patient is not within the budget. Dissent is not tolerated. Even from those at the top.
“Reality will overwhelm rhetoric and the strategy will have to be revised. But the delay in admitting that the policy has not worked is costing lives.
“We need to push for the government and the health board to change tack and rethink their approach before many more loved ones’ lives are lost. The situation in North Wales cannot be allowed to continue.”
Speaking about the recent FOI she raised in the Senedd, Mrs Finch-Saunders said: “In the 24 months leading up to 30 September 2025, 297 patients died in Ysbyty Gwynedd while waiting for treatment in A&E, 385 patients in Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, and 345 in Wrexham Maelor Hospital.
“Questions need to be asked about the role that long waiting times are having on these statistics. Even in my own constituency, I have heard from residents that some who need to seek medical treatment decline going to hospital as a result of these long waits.”
She added later: “I agree with what Mr Osborne has stated. It is a fact, following a number of FOI responses from the health board, that the numbers of people dying in A&E departments and waiting in ambulances is unacceptable. The points he makes about the super flu that is in circulation is also a correct assumption. This has the potential to increase the numbers of deaths that we are seeing.”
She added: “I’ve been elected as a Member of Welsh Parliament for 14 and a half years, and the problems in Betsi with special measures have been around for about 10 years of that 14 years.
“While some improvements are being made, the fundamental flaws in the Betsi board continue.” The health board declined to comment on the claims.
Previously, the health board’s executive director of nursing and midwifery Angela Wood said: “We have seen an increase in the number of cases of flu and other winter viruses in recent days and are now introducing face masks in all clinical areas of our hospitals to help reduce the potential for illnesses to be passed on.
“We do not take this step lightly. We know that wearing masks can be uncomfortable for our patients, their families, and our staff — but believe it is necessary to introduce this measure now to help us mitigate the risk of outbreaks of potentially serious illness.”
She added: “It is critical that people in North Wales continue to support us by following simple advice, which will help to keep vulnerable patients in our hospitals safer this winter.”
By Richard Evans – BBC Local Democracy Reporter
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