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NHS Wales: Doctors' union says service is unreliable

Getty Images an older man waiting in hospitalGetty Images
About 30,000 people people in Wales have been waiting more than two years for treatment after a referral

The erosion of the NHS in Wales means it can no longer be relied on, the head of the body representing doctors has said.

BMA Cymru chairwoman Dr Iona Collins said long waiting times was leading to the deterioration of patients' health.

About 30,000 people in Wales have been waiting more than two years after being referred for hospital treatment.

The Welsh government said it was investing £1bn to cut waiting lists.

Dr Collins' comments come ahead of celebrations marking 75 years since the creation of the NHS.

When asked what the public want from the NHS, Dr Collins said: "We would like to know what is a predictable level of health care provision that we can expect to have with the NHS.

"If we have a suspected heart attack, can we rely on an ambulance turning up?

"Can we rely on that ambulance delivering us to an accident and emergency for life saving treatment?

"At the moment we cannot rely on that.

"When you get the service it will probably be good and satisfactory. The issue is the delay in getting that service in the first place and the deterioration in your health while you are waiting for your treatment.

"It is just wrong to have waiting lists, certainly of the length we have, where people are actively deteriorating and unable to contribute to the economy while they are waiting for necessary care."

She said the current situation "makes no sense".

"We are witnessing as doctors day in day out - unable to influence what we are seeing in front of us - the erosion of our service."

One patient stuck on a waiting list is Stephen Clee, from Gilfach Goch near Porth, Rhondda Cynon Taf, who has been waiting for a hip operation for two and a half years and is forced to rely on pain medication.

Stephen Clee at a table looking down at paperwork
Stephen Clee says paying for a hip replacement privately to avoid a more than two-year wait goes against his principles

His sons offered to pay £13,000 to allow him to go private and be seen within a matter of weeks but he said it goes against everything he believes in.

When asked if he would consider going private, he said: "Being sensible it obviously depends on how bad it is. But if it stays as it is and it is manageable then I will continue as I am.

"If it gets to the stage where I find it's failing too badly then I may not have another option, which is one I don't like to take but I might have to."

Matthew Horwood Dr Iona CollinsMatthew Horwood
Dr Iona Collins says long waiting times means the NHS is no longer predictable

He said he feels cheated by the system after paying taxes for decades and said he could get the same NHS consultant to operate in about two months if he paid privately.

"If I paid for it, I have now gone private by stealth. It goes against what the NHS was devised for," he said.

Events are due to be held next month for the anniversary, but with so much pressure on the NHS in the wake of Covid and the current wave of strikes over pay, the focus is likely to be on the challenges on the service rather than a celebration.

Dr Collins said while the NHS should celebrate its ability to train some of the best medics in the world, the service was "squandering that expertise" due to "doctors leaving the UK in droves".

"Only a few years ago the NHS was the number one, the jewel in the crown of health services around the world, and it is [lack of] resource and funding that has taken us off that pedestal," she said.

"We can get it back, we just need to have the correct funding, the correct resources and the correct organisation."

Prof Marcus Longley, a health economist and former chairman of Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, said a lot had changed for the NHS since it celebrated its 70-year anniversary.

"I think the problems you could have seen five years ago are still there but unfortunately they are worse.

"So during Covid you saw the best and the worst. The best because it stepped up to an unprecedented crisis, but the worst because of what we are seeing now.

"The stuffing has been kicked out of the health service by Covid.

Prof Marcus Longley
Prof Marcus Longley says the "stuffing" has been kicked out of the health service

The Welsh government said: "We're investing an extra £1bn this Senedd term to cut the waiting list backlog caused by Covid and have a seen the number of two-year waits halved in the past year," a spokesperson said.

"We've funded a well-deserved pay rise for our NHS staff and are increasing our training budget for new NHS Staff year on year.

"We are also investing in innovation, extra community beds and new services like 111 and urgent primary care centres to ensure the NHS in Wales can meet increasing demand."