- Record ambulance delays reveal NHS “horror show”
- Latest NHS figures on delayed discharges reveal “living nightmare”
- Levelling up: Rural and coastal communities taken for granted
Record ambulance delays reveal NHS “horror show”
Ambulance response times in Wales have fallen to a record low in December with a staggering 60.5% of red calls (those deemed most life-threatening) being above the official target times. This figure is the highest on record and beats previous numbers in December 2021 and 2020, the latter of which was at the height of the pandemic.
Figures have also shown that a shocking 78% of amber calls, which include heart attacks and strokes took over an hour to arrive.
Additionally, over 12,000 people across Wales spent over 12 hours in A&E, with 18,888 spending over 8 hours, far in excess of the target time of 4 hours and pointing towards problems in discharging stable patients.
Responding to the new NHS Wales statistics, Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS said:
Increased excess deaths, thousands on waiting lists and hours until an ambulance arrives, this is a horror show that the Welsh Labour Government has failed to get a hold of. People will be petrified when they or their loved ones fall ill.
The Welsh NHS isn’t just at breaking point – it’s splitting at its very seams.
We cannot continue to ignore the elephant in the room which is social care. Labour and Plaid Cymru promised social care reform in their Co-operation Deal, yet so far nothing meaningful has been announced. Until the Welsh Government takes the social care crisis seriously, our emergency departments will continue to struggle as they cannot discharge patients and ambulances sit queuing outside hospitals instead of helping more people.
Latest NHS figures on delayed discharges reveal “living nightmare”
The Liberal Democrats have warned that patients are facing a “living nightmare,” after the latest NHS figures revealed almost 7,000 cases a day last week of delayed discharges.
This is where patients are ready to leave hospital but unable to do so because the necessary social care or other support isn’t available.
Commenting, Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:
These figures reveal the horrific consequences of years of Conservative neglect.
It is a living nightmare as hospitals run out of beds, patients are treated in corridors and ambulances are left queuing for hours outside A&E.
Conservative ministers cannot continue to bury their heads in the sand as local health and care services collapse in front of our eyes.
We need a proper NHS rescue plan so that people are no longer left terrified about what will happen if they fall sick or get injured.
Levelling up: Rural and coastal communities taken for granted
Responding to the levelling up funding announcement, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Local Government Helen Morgan MP said:
The Conservative government’s refusal to support so many vital local projects shows they are taking our rural and coastal communities for granted.
From Shropshire to Devon, funding to boost public transport links, revitalise our town centres and sea fronts has been cruelly denied.
People across the country are being let down by endless broken promises from Conservative ministers who talk the talk then fail to deliver.