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Wales NHS: Health minister's 'hell on earth' funding warning

BBC Eluned MorganBBC
Eluned Morgan says the Welsh NHS is facing a 'real nightmare' without extra funding

Running the NHS in Wales next year without extra funding from the UK government will be "hell on earth," the Welsh health minister has said.

The Welsh government needs an extra £207m to pay for energy costs alone this winter, Eluned Morgan said.

The added support provided by the UK government is not enough to cover the costs, according to Ms Morgan.

The extra energy spending is more than the £170m a year the Welsh government pledged to "transform" planned care.

With little prospect of extra funding coming from Westminster she said the Welsh government faces a "real nightmare" in running the NHS next year, especially given the current pressures on services.

'Extremely difficult'

"It feels extremely difficult," she told BBC Wales. "Just to give you an example we've had a £207m energy bill that we weren't expecting at the beginning of the year."

"Just to give you context, we put by £170m to address the backlog, so it's more money than we had to address the backlog," she explained.

"We haven't got that additional money... we've got to find it from within the budgets that are already there."

Getty Images Staff walking along a corridor at Grange Hospital, CwmbranGetty Images
The Welsh NHS budget is facing an extra £207m to cover rising energy costs

The health minister's comments come on the day the NHS in Wales recorded some of the worst ever performance figures for ambulances response times and cancer care waits.

Waiting lists for planned operations in Wales have grown to another record, exceeding three-quarters of a million for the first time.

'Breaking all the wrong records'

Welsh Conservatives said the health minister and Welsh government need to take responsibility for "breaking all the wrong records".

Tory health spokesman Russell George said: "The failure of the Labour government to prepare for pandemic recovery continues to be felt by the people of Wales as they experience the longest treatment waiting lists, ambulance delays, and A&E waits in Britain.

Russell George
Russell George says the Welsh government needs to '"take responsibility" for long NHS waiting times

"This failure to plan for the re-opening of hospitals has meant the delivery of healthcare is out of control - staff are doing their best to cope with demand but a lack of leadership from the centre has meant the minister leaving the NHS totally adrift," he added.

"59,000 people wait over two years for treatment in Wales, but there are no such waits in England," Mr George said. "This is the cost of Labour - now they need to get a grip on the NHS and stop breaking all the wrong records."