Sioned Williams
YOU don’t need me to tell you that there is a crisis in the NHS.
The latest figures show that 42% of patients in Cwm Taf Bro Morgannwg Health Board and 39% of patients in Swansea University Health Board had to wait longer than the four-hour target time for emergency treatment.
I’ve seen an increase in the amount of correspondence that
I’m receiving from constituents who are being affected by this crisis and many of these cases have been truly heartbreaking.
I recently spoke in a Senedd debate about Plaid Cymru’s Five-Point Plan to tackle the crisis in our NHS.
The plan would offer both immediate and longer-term solutions for the problems facing the health service, benefiting patients and staff – who have also been under huge stress and pressure due to workload.
During the debate, I highlighted the need for a greater emphasis on preventative measures if we want to address these pressures on the NHS, such as ensuring people eat a healthy diet, live in warm homes, can exercise and protect their mental wellbeing.
Studies have shown that poverty causes ill health and inequality in health outcomes, increasing the pressure on health services as poverty and deprivation have a serious impact on people’s ability to lead healthy lives.
A recent report by The Food Foundation found that the poorest fifth of UK households would need to spend 43% of their disposable income on food to meet the recommended healthy diet, compared to just 10% for the richest fifth.
At a time when government money is tight and a time of raging levels of poverty in Wales, the need to prioritise preventative health measures is urgent.
In addressing the NHS crisis, the Labour Welsh Government must take full account of the differences in the opportunities people have to lead healthy lives.
Health inequalities stemming from poverty aren’t inevitable, and neither is poverty; politics has the potential to eradicate both these things.
Plaid Cymru and I will continue to campaign on this as we must do everything we can to save our
NHS.