The biggest issues facing Wales now – your verdicts
BREXIT, coronavirus pandemic and now a supply chain crisis, it’s been a tough two years for everyone. Our sister website WalesOnline asked readers on Facebook what they thought was the biggest issue facing Wales right now – and was inundated with concerns ranging from poor transport infrastructure to NHS waiting times and a lack of affordable housing. Below, we list the nine most highly rated issues.
■ 1. Difficulties getting GP appointments, especially face to face
Darrell Shand accused GPs of “doing all they can to avoid seeing patients”, while Sue Bullock said the phone was engaged for two hours while she tried to get an appointment with an asthma nurse. If you’ve tried to get an appointment with your GP since the start of the pandemic, you’ll probably share their concerns.
Last month, a report by Community Health Councils (CHC) – the independent NHS watchdog in Wales – found many patients were left waiting for up to an hour on the phone to speak to someone and are often told there are no available appointments.
But Dr Gareth Oelmann, a GP in Cwmbran said the sector is overstretched and underfunded, with “demand outstripping capacity”, while new data from NHS digital showed that the number of face-toface GP appointments has hardly changed since the winter lock
down.
2. Long waiting times for ambulances and
hospital treatment
Many readers expressed concerns about waiting times in Wales’ hospitals. Chloe Wallace was concerned that NHS staff were being overworked, while Laura Keighan said that the service was understaffed.
Last month, figures from the Welsh Government showed that just 68.7% of patients spent less than four hours in an accident and emergency unit before being admitted, transferred or discharged in August – the worst performance on record, topping the 69.8% for July which was itself a record.
Meanwhile, the Welsh Ambulance Service has resorted to seeking help from the military amid unprecedented pressures in anticipation of a “difficult winter period”.
3. Poor transport infrastructure
Facebook user Tony Daly thought “woeful transport infrastructure and a very illjudged decision to not to ahead with the M4 bypass” is the biggest problem facing Wales, and described the public transport system as “dreadful”.
In June, the Welsh Government announced it would stop all new road-building projects – including major plans like the Llandeilo bypass, the A55 red route and another bridge to Anglesey – while its new climate change ministry conducts a wide-ranging review.
In August, millions of pounds which were spent on the scrapped M4 relief road were formally written off by the Welsh Government, ending any remaining hope that
the project might go ahead.
4. A lack of affordable housing
Leanne Rebecca Humphrey believes a lack of affordable housing is the biggest issue facing the country right now, with Emma Jones adding that second home owners and holiday lets are “flooding out local people”.
In June, we reported on the repercussions of second homes and holiday lets in north and west Wales, with locals priced out of the housing market and places like Cwm-yr-Eglwys in
Pembrokeshire and Abersoch on the Llyn Peninsula becoming ghost towns in the winter months when the summer visitors leave.
But a lack of affordable housing is not only plaguing rural areas.
The latest figures for Cardiff show house prices grew twice as fast as wages in the past 15 years, with the average home now costing more than £235,000.
5. Homelessness
Several readers also mentioned homelessness as a major issue. Maria
Davies believe there should be “funding/assessments to provide the bare minimum for vulnerable people in the community to remain empowered and independent in their own homes”.
In June we spoke to the people at the heart of Wales’ accommodation crisis, with 6,111 individuals declared as living in temporary accommodation as of March 2021, 1,294 of which being dependent children – a significant increase compared to before the pandemic.
But for many, temporary accommodation is now a distant memory. Many homeless people in the capital, who had been given rooms in hostels and hotels at the start of the pandemic, are now back on the streets.
6. Lack of funding from UK Government after Brexit
Responses to WalesOnline’s call out for the biggest issue facing the country were full of mentions of “Westminster” and “Boris Johnson’s Government”, with Andrew Crowley citing “gross underfunding from London”.
At the end of September, economy minister Vaughan Gething said Wales is now facing a “vast” reduction in funding from the UK Government despite repeated promises that Wales would not be worse off financially after Brexit.
7. Lack of affordable dental treatment
Ruth Kevin thinks the “lack of NHS dentists” is the biggest problem in the country right now, adding that “having to pay over a thousand pounds for private dental treatment is robbery”, while Suzanne Davies said it cost her and her husband £135 for an appointment with a hygienist.
The state of dentistry in Wales is a reflection of what’s happening all over the UK, due to the scale of the backlog caused by the pandemic. Dental surgeries have “thousands” of people on their waiting lists, with patients are unable to access care after calling numerous dental surgeries and being told to wait until 2024 for appointments, watchdog Healthwatch England revealed in May.
The watchdog said that some people are being offered swift private care as an alternative at the same dental practice, with some patients reporting that they felt “pressured” to pay for private care.
8. Poor internet access, especially in rural areas
Maria D’silva cites poor internet in rural areas as a major problem – with other readers mentioning the same.
Poor broadband in the Welsh countryside is nothing new, and is a source of real frustration for people across many parts of rural Wales as they try to do things like Skype family members and stream films.
The problem also restricts the ability of businesses to function, hitting both employment levels and productivity.
9. Welsh Government and its handling of the pandemic
Many readers took a jab at the Welsh Government, with Tom Hillard describing them as “totally out of their depth”.
The coronavirus pandemic exposed serious problems within Wales’ government and in August we published a list of 29 things a Covid inquiry must look into in terms of how the Welsh Government handled the pandemic.
Some estimates suggest that Wales has had more coronavirus deaths relative to our size than any other part of the UK, however First Minister Mark Drakeford has resisted calls for a Welsh inquiry into Covid.
What do you think is the biggest issue that Wales is facing right now? Let us know.
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