The Labour Minister for North Wales has been forced to apologise to people in the region today, following Welsh Conservative questioning, as a quarter of the population are left on a waiting list.
On the third time asking, Lesley Griffiths, the Minister said the Labour Government in Cardiff Bay were “sorry people have to wait for a lengthy time”.
168,757 people are on a waiting list in the Betsi Cadwaladr health board are, with 1-in-3 of them waiting over a year, and 15,000 for over two years.
Commenting, Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies MS said:
“The cost-of-pain crisis where people are stuck for far too long on an NHS waiting lists is a problem across Wales, but is critical in the North.
“It is absolutely shocking that a quarter of the population in North Wales are on a waiting list, with 1-in-3 of them waiting over a year, and 15,000 waiting over two years.
“We heard of no tangible action today from the Minister responsible for North Wales – meanwhile, patients in England benefit from scores of surgical hubs to tackle long waiting lists thanks to investment from the UK Conservative Government.
“Labour need to get a grip on the NHS and stop breaking all the wrong records.”
Lesley Griffiths, the Minister, said the Labour Government have “put significant resources, both human and financial, into helping them with targeted intervention.” However, this has not improved results.
Griffiths bragged that the longest treatment waits in Wales have fallen for four months in a row. However, this drop to 60,000 is from a peak of over 70,000. The waits have been virtually eliminated in England and Scotland.
Despite these official figures, the Minister said “you paint this picture of the rest of the UK that isn’t true.”