Plans to change hospital emergency departments in South Wales should be abandoned, according to the Welsh Conservatives. The party claims proposals due to be announced later this month will see the number of A&E departments in the region reduced.
Shadow Health Minister Darren Millar said,
With demand for our emergency services on the rise, any plans to downgrade up to half of A&E departments in South Wales are unacceptable and must be abandoned.
Whilst sensible service modernisation in the region is something that we can all support, foolish plans to strip away emergency services from local hospitals are the very last thing that patients in South Wales will be prepared to accept.
Of course the money is welcome, but it can’t be allowed to be a distraction from the bigger issues our ambulance service is facing.
This is a spinning technique that is often used by the Welsh Labour Government – they announce some money to make the headlines so that their failures aren’t discussed. This time the people of Wales won’t be duped by their smoke and mirror techniques. For too long, the handling of our ambulance service has been appalling.
– Kirsty Williams AM, Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader
Conservative Darren Millar, the Shadow Health Minister, echoed that saying that the service needs more ambulances, more paramedics and a greater role for the air ambulance. He said,
Throwing money at a problem without doing anything else won't make a blind bit of difference.
– Darren Millar AM, Shadow Health MInister
Assembly Members will discuss the McLelland report into the problems facing the Ambulance service during a government debate in the Senedd this afternoon.
Minister showed 'disgraceful ignorance' claim Conservatives
The Welsh Conservatives have condemned the former Health Minister's decision to refer back objections to changes to hospital services in west Wales. They claim Lesley Griffiths effectively ignored the Community Health Council's concerns about the Hywel Dda Health Board's proposals.
This move is a disgraceful ignorance of ministerial accountability. It beggars belief that the views of a watchdog representing the public can be so blatantly disregarded. This is effectively bouncing the referral back to the watchdog and avoiding any responsibility. I hope the new health minister – whose appointment is welcome – will take a far more appropriate approach to an issue that affects many thousands of people.
– Shadow Health Minister Darren Millar AM
The old minister has done little more than pass the buck and it is no surprise that she has been shifted from her portfolio. Her refusal to stand accountable is a sad indictment of a Labour government completely out of touch with Pembrokeshire. I urge the new minister to review this decision and look very carefully at the health board’s unnecessary plans.”
Political battle continues after no confidence vote
Labour have echoed Dafydd Elis Thomas' attack on his party, with one Welsh Government source claiming that Plaid Cymru have proved that they are happy to be stooges for the Tories. Meanwhile Plaid say that the political fallout over what they call hospital downgrading is far from over,
This is not about playing politics; it is about taking responsibility for important decisions that affect us all. Today, we invited the Health Minister to clear her name, but she failed to take that opportunity. It is clear from the correspondence that the Welsh Government, local health boards, and the NHS confederation each played a significant part in the drafting of the report on hospital reconfiguration, yet the Minister has denied this. The Health Minister is willing to take the credit for the opening of new services, but fails to take responsibility for the closure of old ones.
– Plaid Cymru Health Spokesperson Elin Jones AM
The Welsh Conservatives have promised to maintain 'fierce opposition to the downgrading of district general hospitals' despite the government's 29-28 victory, defeating the vote of no confidence on the Health Minister, Lesley Griffiths.
The Minister’s performance today remains utterly unconvincing. Responses to many of the questions posed were completely contrary to the evidence provided. Serious questions persist on a number of significant issues and explanations on important matters relating to the report’s independence remain as clear as mud. It is disappointing that the joint motion has fallen in this way, despite continued cross-party concerns on the case for change report’s independence.
Minister and top doctor deny wrongdoing over NHS report
The Health Minister, Lesley Griffiths, and the Welsh NHS Medical Director, Dr Chris Jones, have both strongly denied doing anything wrong in their handling of Professor Marcus Longley's report on the future of the health service. They were being questioned by the Assembly's health committee.
The Shadow Health Minister, Darren Millar, pressed Dr Jones over his email to Professor Longley about an emergency response service in Scotland. Dr Jones called it 'a positive new service that needs to go in'. It appeared in the final draft but Dr Jones denied influencing the report's contents.
None of that is true. As a doctor, the last few days have been quite painful because I have had to hear a lot of statements made in public about conniving, conspiracy, some sort of immoral behaviour, seeking to mislead the public. Now as a doctor, that's accusing me of serious professional misconduct and that is very difficult for me. It's worse also because the comments made have been absolutely untrue and there seems to be no reason to think that they may be true.
– Welsh NHS Medical Director Dr Chris Jones
So when you said 'this is a positive new service that needs to go in', you weren't seeking to influence the report?
– Shadow Health Minister Darren Millar AM
I was telling Professor Longley that ... it needed to be part of the future arrangements of NHS Wales. Professor Longley would not have know that unless I had told him.
– Welsh NHS Medical Director Dr Chris Jones
The Health Minister, Lesley Griffiths, will face a vote of no confidence in the Assembly this afternoon over her officials' actions. She told the committee that although she knew that Professor Longley would ask her officials for information, 'the report was Professor Longley's independent view'.
The Welsh Government has defended sending emails to the author of a report on the state of the health service. One email said that the report 'needs to be more positive'. A spokesperson for the Health Minister says opposition criticism is an attempt to destabilise debate on the future of the NHS.
The Case for Change report, produced by Professor Marcus Longley, was commissioned and owned by Local Health Boards and the NHS Confederation. Welsh Government officials responded to requests for statistical and other information from Professor Longley and the NHS Confederation. The Welsh Government did not seek to influence or amend the content of the report, as that was entirely a matter for the NHS Confederation and Professor Longley.
– Spokesperson for Health Minister Lesley Griffiths AM
The Shadow Health Minister, Darren Millar AM, has said that if the Minister, Lesley Griffiths, knew about the emails she should lose her job. He says there was an attempt to 'sex-up' the report and turn it into 'a dodgy dossier'.