Welsh Government accused of ‘passing the buck’ over lack of specialist healthcare services
The Welsh Conservatives have criticised the government over a lack of specialist healthcare services in Wales.
Shadow Minister for Mental Health, James Evans MS accused the government of “passing the buck” following a testy exchange at First Minister’s Questions earlier this month, when he asked why people with eating disorders “regularly have to leave Wales to access services in England”.
Mark Drakeford replied: “It has always been the case that in Wales we sometimes think it’s clinically better for people to access specialist services across the border.
“Sometimes, on a population of 3 million people a specialist service will be better provided across our border. That has always been the case for over 20 years and for certain specialisms it will always be the case in the future.”
Scrutiny
Responding to Mr Drakeford’s comments, Mr Evans, the MS for Brecon and Radnorshire said: “We know that the Labour Government in Cardiff Bay like to pass the buck down the M4 and avoid scrutiny at every turn, but increasingly they are also failing to even acknowledge the need for the existence of certain healthcare services here in Wales.
“Wales currently has no in-person gambling addiction clinics or eating disorder services and lack a plan to bring support closer to home.
“Labour Ministers even admit that the UK Conservative Government are leading the way while the Welsh Government do nothing.
“The nearest in-person clinics for gambling addiction are in Stoke-on-Trent and Southampton, for eating disorders many will have to head into the Midlands or even further afield.
“Mark Drakeford thinks that the fact that services are in his own words ‘better provided across our border’ is a good thing, he’s wrong, Wales deserves better.
“I make no apology for standing up for my constituents that are having to travel hundreds of miles out of Wales to access vital services.”
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Build more hospitals in Wales
This from the Welsh Conservatives who represent a party in London that voted against the creation of the National Health Service, who have been privatising the English NHS by stealth a tad ironic don’t you think. We need a change in Wales. The Welsh Government have controlled our Welsh NHS since 1999, and still they rely on English hospitals over the border rather than build specialist hospitals in Wales?! I’d say this to First Minister Mark Drakeford. Act like a leader. Stop leaching off England when we in Wales who invented the bloody NHS deserve facilities of our own. It… Read more »
Royal Shrewsbury Hospital having a big upgrade to deal with patients from no hospital land Powys. How can we complain about England taking our water when they treat our sick. The orthopaedic hospital in Oswestry England even has bilingual signage.
Don’t forget Liverpool was the capital of Wales when Alder Hay was built staffed by Welsh speaking nurses.