Senedd Member calls for review into NHS capacity over ambulance waits

A Plaid Cymru Senedd Member has called for a review into NHS capacity.

Peredur Owen Griffiths, who represents the South Wales East region, was speaking in the Senedd on Tuesday, October 25, after it was revealed that monthly average ambulance waits of 2,000 hours were happening at Cwmbran’s Grange Hospital.

Mr Owen Griffiths, who had described the figures as “unacceptable”, raised the issue with Welsh Government minister Lesley Griffiths.

Mr Owen Griffiths said: “Figures supplied to my office lay bare the capacity problems within the Welsh NHS.

“The Welsh Ambulance Trust is routinely losing more than 2,000 hours per month due to ambulances waiting outside just one hospital in my region. The fact that this hospital is the flagship Grange hospital is even more problematic, as this was meant to herald an improvement in health services for constituents.”

He called for a review into capacity issues within the Welsh NHS and the knock-on effects it is having on other services and patient wellbeing.

The Plaid MS added: “The status quo is failing patients, it’s failing hospitals and it’s failing ambulance staff. I hope you agree things are unacceptable and things cannot go on like this.”

In response, Lesley Griffiths said Mr Owen-Griffiths raised “a very good point” and added: “It’s certainly something that I think we’ve seen outside many of our hospitals in Wales, which is something that we don’t want to see.

“I know the [Health] Minister [Eluned Morgan]’s been working very hard with all the health boards to try and improve the times that ambulances are waiting outside.

“Obviously, this is an issue with capacity in our emergency departments, and, again, I know the Minister’s been working very hard to recruit more emergency consultants. I know, certainly, Betsi Cadwaladr, which I appreciate is not in your area, is an area where they’ve had a real focus.”