A Mid Wales AM has called on the Welsh Government to intervene to ensure that elective operations proceed without delay at Bronglais General Hospital in Aberystwyth.
Russell George, Assembly Member for Montgomeryshire, raised the issue in the National Assembly for Wales today (10th March 2015) , after a number of constituents contacted him to say that elective operations were being cancelled.
Mr George asked for an urgent statement from the Health Minister, Mark Drakeford, on the situation at Bronglais General Hospital following reports from two of Mr George’s constituents who informed him that their operations had already been cancelled 3 times due to ‘winter pressures’.
Following raising the issue in the National Assembly chamber, Mr George said:
“It is entirely unacceptable for elective operations to be cancelled due to so-called “winter pressures”.
“Many people, who have already waited many months for their operation, are elderly and deserve a better standard of care from the Welsh NHS.
“Two constituents have contacted me to say that they have already had their operations cancelled three times and are still waiting.
“I am also concerned that decisions about the cancellation of elective procedures are being taken by administrators rather than clinicians and I have asked the Chief Executive of Hywel Dda University Health Board, Steve Moore, to provide clarity on the situation at Bronglais.
A Wales Audit Office (WAO) report on NHS Waiting Times for Elective Care in Wales, published in January, stated that the cause for long waits boils down to the inability of the NHS in Wales to sustainably match the supply of healthcare with demand for services.
Mr George added:
“A recent WAO report confirmed that the NHS in other areas of the UK are doing much better against more stringent targets and that the Welsh Government’s current approach is not fit for purpose.
“I have urged the Welsh Government to update its approach, which hasn’t been updated since 2009, to reflect the challenge of meeting its own waiting time targets.”