Mark Drakeford questioned on ‘too many beds’ comment in the Senedd
Meg Davies
Finance Minister Mark Drakeford defended his recent comments that Wales has ‘too many hospitals and too many beds’ in the Senedd yesterday.
The former Labour first minister, Mark Drakeford, was quizzed by Conservative MS Sam Rowlands on the comments, and on his stance on health spending as Finance Minister.
Mr Rowlands asked if Mr Drakeford’s comments were indicative of the direction of travel of Labour’s finance plans.
Draft budget
Sam Rowlands MS said: “Last week, Cabinet Secretary, you recently shared that you believe that Wales has too many hospitals and too many beds.”
“As the person responsible for the finances of the Government here in Wales, is that, therefore, an indication of the direction of travel that you’re going to persuade your colleagues to go down, to spend less money on hospitals and less money on beds here in Wales?” he asked.
Mr Drakeford responded that the answer is “very obvious in the draft budget”.
He said: “The department in the Welsh Government that gets the largest increase of any is, of course, as you would expect from a Labour Government, the health service.”
“In the latest figures – figures published by a Conservative UK Government – Welsh health spending was higher than in England, grew faster than in England, and spending on social services in Wales was 37 per cent higher than in England. The facts speak for themselves.”
“Here in Wales, we have always placed the highest priority on investment in our health and social care system.”
He added: “That is continued in the draft budget that will be before the Senedd for final determination on 4 March.”
‘Over-hospitalised’
The Senedd discussion comes after Mark Drakeford told the For Wales, See Wales podcast: “If I had a blank sheet of paper and could just do the things I think needed to be done…we would have fewer hospitals in Wales. We have too many hospitals and too many beds.”
“Secondary care, as it’s called, the hospital sector, sucks the resources in the health service, and yet nine out of 10 contacts between the individual and the health service happens in primary care, in your GP surgery”, he said.
He added: “The money is sucked into the hospital sector because it’s so expensive to run. So, the first thing I would say is we are over-hospitalised in Wales.”
Ongoing debate
Mr Drakeford’s comments follow a recent debate about hospital beds in the Senedd, with Welsh Conservatives criticising the Welsh Labour Government for allowing a reduction in the number of NHS beds in Wales.
Conservative leader Darren Millar said: “Since 2010, the number of beds in the Welsh NHS has fallen by over 20%. You’ve promised since then to build more hospitals with more beds, but you haven’t delivered. In recent years, the number of beds in the Welsh NHS has been completely static.”
FM Eluned Morgan explained that the number of beds is “not the key issue”, and that social care and hospital flow should be prioritised instead.
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To be able to reduce patient’s going to hospital Gp surgeries need to stop telling people to go to A&E. I was recently told to go to A&E for a blood test by my local Gp surgery as it was not a routine blood test. Ever since Tony Blair and his government changed their contract we have lost the Gp that used to be the backbone of community care. I guess it’s called progress.
Since 1999 health’s been a devolved competence, so did the Blair government’s changes to GP contracts apply here?
Healthcare in Wales, under the present constitutional arrangement, is the responsibility of the Welsh government. Responsibility and control are however not the same. There are too many other non Welsh government forces involved, for the Welsh government to have that control. Interesting article in NC.. Opinion “Who is in control of the Welsh NHS? It’s not the Welsh government 28 Nov 2024” Re Gp contract… In June 2003, GPs voted throughout the United Kingdom to accept a new contract for the delivery of general medical services. This included wales. This was the contract that allowed GPs to opt out ‘out… Read more »
Thanks for the clarification, which fills me in on some things about which I was uncertain.
Which is why I posed my first post on this topic as a question rather than an assertion.
The NHS General Medical Services Contracts (Wales) Regulations 2004 was adopted by the Labour Welsh Government, it was essentially the same as that in England. Only a slight divergence is now in effect, with the NHS General Medical services (Wales) Regulations 2023. The point that Paul makes is that of “who takes bloods for testing?” The GP practice nurse or the bloods unit at the main hospital. Former easier for patient and GP knows what to test for, or latter faster turn around but relies on IT for what the labs do with a sample. Regulations are only as good… Read more »
I’m not sure that Drakeford was really saying anything more than that ‘if we were starting to build an NHS from scratch, we wouldn’t construct it exactly as we have it now’.
As quite indisputably we’re now where we are and not where it might have been better to be, I’m not sure just how that observation is of great practical help, but as a passing comment it’s at least arguable.
Why is there corridor care if there are too many beds?
https://nation.cymru/news/royal-college-of-nursing-demands-urgent-action-on-corridor-care-in-wales/
Some of it I think is due to bed blocking by patients who are well enough to be discharged from hospital but are awaiting a social care package to support them once home.
Southerners, I can stand on top of Cader Idris but I won’t see a hospital…
Like the roads health care goes east-west and is either on the A55 or the M4…
From the top of Cader Idris you can see the bus departing Y Sgwar, Dolgellau heading for Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor to provide your urine sample, but never rely on the last bus home. It’s much easier however to stand on the Gabalfa interchange and pee directly into UHW in Cardiff. Did you really expect the Health Minister consider the rest of Wales? For that we need a change of government.
The view you suggest is from the eastern end not the top…
Some days you can’t even see yerself on Cader Idris !
Seriously, though, that comment from Mark Drakeford was hypothetical, but having served as Man in Charge for years either at Top Job or i/c Health he ought to know by now that the people’s concerns are in the real world and refrained from coming out with such abstract junk.
Too many hospitals now beds? Duw, I’m getting dizzy at this political ping-pong. Former First Minster now First Secretary for Finance Mark Drakeford needs to make his mind up. His party has been in control of the Welsh NHS 25 years, there’s been numerous reorganisations under their watch, and yes, outside forces Welsh Labour can’t control be it Tory/Labour Whitehall block funding cuts, hospitals built using dangerous RAAC , no HS2 consequential, tied to England’s coattails etc… but he/they must take responsibility for what they do control not pass the buck.
When you’ve waited 37 hours in an A&E waiting room on a plastic chair, for a bed so you can get treatment for a suspected Brain Bleed then the FM and Finance Minister says it’s nothing to do with beds just doesn’t cut it anymore.
I waited for many hours with an infection that could be sepsis in A&E. I was then taken to a bed ready for the morning’s emergency OP which turned out to be a most uncomfortable chair but classed as a bed.
Yes that’s awful, I had literally the same experience for a suspected aneurysm in Cardiff but I do think Drakeford had a point that’s being deliberately missed by some people. There’s a problem with people well enough to go home taking up beds due to social care issues etc. Adding more beds to that situation is expensive and time consuming while just increasing overstaying. While what he said at first glance sounds ridiculous, when you think about the causes of these problems rather than the symptoms, it makes sense. Too many hospital beds and not enough of everything else designed… Read more »
I noted in Eluned Morgan’s Opinion that she pointed out the loss of 2,000 care workers due to Brexit had significantly affected social care. It did make me wonder why is it that we can’t fill these vacancies perhaps these jobs be more career oriented and opportunities for higher pay. Perhaps it’s worth looking at incorporating social care into heath services. This seems so obvious that it must be more complicated than it appears.
After just spending 2 months in hospital and years of working in the NHS I can categorically state that there are far from enough beds. Where do these politicians get their facts from? We have far too many politicians who are a complete waste of money whereas hospital beds are much needed. Must be alright for the private hospital politicians.