Welsh well being minister accuses Barclay of ‘naked political hit’ in NHS comparability
T
he Welsh well being minister has hit again at Steve Barclay and accused him of a “naked political hit”, after the Tory minister’s criticism of the nation’s ready lists.
Eluned Morgan rejected the Health Secretary’s feedback, after he mentioned he can be “open to requests” for sufferers from Wales and Scotland to be handled on the NHS in England amid document ready lists.
The Labour-run Welsh NHS has lengthy been a goal of Conservative assaults, as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak seeks to satisfy his pledge of chopping ready lists.
According to the newest NHS England information, 7.6 million individuals had been ready to begin therapy on the finish of June.
It’s a unadorned political hit in the midst of the foolish season … He ought to focus on his job and I’ll focus on mine
Mr Barclay advised the BBC on Monday: “In England we have virtually eliminated waits of over 18 months, whereas in Wales for example there are over 70,000 patients waiting more than 18 months.
“In fact, many of your listeners will be surprised to learn there are four times as many patients waiting over a year for treatment in Wales compared to in England.
“That is despite Keir Starmer saying that Wales is the blueprint for what they would do in England.”
But the Welsh minister for well being mentioned progress had been made in current months to enhance the NHS in Wales, including that Cardiff was “far more honest with the public” over well being service information than London.
According to the most recent NHS information for Wales, there have been roughly 748,400 “patient pathways” ready for therapy in May. Wales and England measure NHS efficiency in a different way, making direct comparisons tough.
Baroness Morgan advised BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme: “I think it’s just summer political fever time.
“They’re taking this opportunity to try to distract attention from the fact that they have 7.5 million people waiting on their waiting list. And the fact is we measure very, very differently.
“We count in our statistics diagnostics and therapies. None of those are counted in the English figures. Of course we are still challenged, we’re all still getting over the pandemic.
“We do have waiting lists that are too long in Wales, but it’s a situation that is not considerably better in England, with 7.5 million waiting there.”
She insisted that the so-called “8am bottleneck” was being tackled in Wales, with progress too in using neighborhood pharmacies and modifications to NHS dental companies.
The Labour politician was additionally sceptical of Mr Barclay’s supply for Welsh sufferers to be handled in England.
“If it’s a free offer, I’ll be taking him up on that offer. But my guess is that it is not.
“And the real question is where on earth would he find the capacity from in England, when he has got 7.5 million people waiting for treatment there?
“It’s a naked political hit in the middle of the silly season … He should concentrate on his job and I will concentrate on mine.”
Scottish Labour chief Anas Sarwar additionally mentioned that Mr Barclay shouldn’t be lecturing anybody on ready lists.
“The idea that Steve Barclay will lecture anyone on how to destroy the NHS in England, or the fact that the SNP get a free ride from the mess that they’ve made here in Scotland, I think is for the birds,” he mentioned on Monday.