PRESS RELEASE : Welsh Conservative comment on critical incident in North Wales NHS [December 2022]
The press release issued by the Welsh Conservatives on 19 December 2022.
Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board described demand on its services over recent days as “unprecedented”, leading to the declaration of a critical incident and the postponement of all but the most urgent procedures.
Commenting, Welsh Conservative Shadow Health Minister Russell George MS said:
“As ever there is plenty of disappointment but no shock to hear that North Wales’ health board is once again in trouble and unable to cope – it is, sadly, a tale as old as time for staff and patients in the region who have been let down by the way the NHS has been run there by the Labour Government in Cardiff Bay.
“We need to hear urgently from Labour’s Health Minister to know what the plan of action is, especially with more strikes from nurses and ambulance workers imminent – patients must have confidence that they can access the safe healthcare there taxes pay for.
“When we see that the problem is insufficient beds, it stings all the more when we know Labour has cut a third of NHS beds in the devolution era and have waited so long to address bed-blocking where healthy people are stuck in hospital because they cannot be discharged somewhere safe.
“I really do fear that 2022 may have been a terrible year for the Welsh NHS – with treatment waiting lists, A&E waits, and ambulance response times all hitting their worst rates on record over the last 12 months – but, under Labour, things can still get worse.”
