‘Lack of investment behind NHS’ crippling problems’
THERE are “cripplingly serious problems” within the Welsh NHS this winter because of a lack of long-term investment, a top health chief has warned.
Dr David Bailey, deputy chairman of the BMA’s Welsh Council, said worsening accident and emergency waiting time figures should “come as no surprise”.
Statistics for December showed that 2,425 patients had to spend longer than 12 hours in Welsh emergency units compared to 1,457 in the same month in 2015.
But he said the pressures are spread across the whole NHS system and are not isolated to A&E.
He said: “Both primary and secondary care are forced to try and cope with inadequate resources, an unsustainable workload, and a workforce under considerable strain across the whole of Wales.
“There is constant pressure impacting significantly on emergency departments, generating severe challenges in bed access throughout hospitals.
“The reality is that we have closed too many beds to get patients in and out of the system in a timely manner.
“Unfortunately this has corresponded with a significant fall in community and nursing care beds.
“The problems don’t end there, even when you get back to more normal levels you have all the backlogs you can’t get people out of hospital because of social care cuts and difficulties in getting people back into their own environment.”
He added that overcrowding is becoming an all-too-familiar problem in Welsh hospitals and is linked to an increase in hospital-acquired infections.
“It becomes a perfect storm because of the additional numbers we’re not set up to deal with,” he added.
“The short-termism associated with the need to make efficiency savings in NHS Wales has prevented longer-term, better-value savings being made.
“This in turn has hindered progress in tackling the underlying structural issues which allow winter pressures to create cripplingly serious problems. A permanent funding solution across the entire NHS needs to be implemented and investment must keep up with demand in every part of the system.”
Throughout 2016, the average number of patients waiting longer than 12 hours each month was 2,843, or 4.3% of patients. It means the figure for December was actually 400 below the yearly average.
Plaid Cymru’s Rhun Ap Iorwerth AM believes it is a sign that “crisis levels” of performance were becoming the norm.
“If Labour had ensured better access to GPs and Minor Injury Units, and better availability of out of hours cover, then many of those people who waited longer than 12 hours wouldn’t have had to attend A&E in the first place.
“Accident and emergency departments could have transferred them to a more appropriate setting far sooner.
“This isn’t just a winter crisis. It’s happening every month now. The tragedy is that we’re so used to it, it isn’t generating headlines anymore.”
The Welsh Government has stressed that the vast majority of patients continue to receive the best possible care in a professional and timely manner.
A spokeswoman said: “Around 80% of patients spent less than four hours in emergency care facilities from arrival until admission, transfer or discharge.”