NHS Wales: RCN chief says things must change in 2024

The head of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in Wales has said "things need to change in 2024" as pressure on health services mounts.

Health bosses previously warned winter demand could match last year's record-breaking pressures.

Helen Whyley, director of the RCN in Wales, said the current situation was "completely unacceptable".

Health Minister Eluned Morgan said there was a "limited budget" but more NHS staff in Wales than ever before.

Ms Whyley told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast the health service was "at a very difficult point" as it entered the new year.

"It's completely unacceptable that we have such large pressure in the system with patients waiting to be cared for," she said.

"We've had two weekends where a bank holiday falls on a Monday, and that's always a difficult time for our services.

"We've got to stop thinking about what we're doing with the symptoms and start thinking about the problem. So, why have we got so many people in A&E? Why is our capacity in various areas not good enough?

"We know the answers to some of [those questions] and we have to invest in that."

Ms Whyley added that industrial action "has an impact across different professions", adding that nurses "fully respect" the decision of doctors to hold a three-day strike later in January and "sympathise with them".

"I say [to politicians] this is within your power. You've told us Welsh problems will find Welsh solutions with Welsh actions. So, come on then.

"We need to see a much bolder approach to how we're going to look after and deliver health care."

She added investing in staff should be a top priority.

"It seems to me like we keep having the conversation. We keep being told there's no more money, and yet we're not thinking creatively about how we use the money that's in the system. The amount of money we spend on agency [staff] is quite frankly shocking.

"That is money in the system that could be repurposed."

Responding to the call to action, the Welsh government's health minister, Eluned Morgan, said the RCN "clearly haven't been paying attention" to the solutions already implemented, adding that the 111 service, pharmacy advice options and same-day care centres now available were not on offer "a couple of years ago" and ambulance response times were improving.

She said the Welsh government expected save £56 million this financial year by reducing agency staff, but that this would have a knock-on effect on hospital capacity.

"The fact is we have a limited budget, but we have more staff in the NHS than ever before; more nurses, more doctors," she said.

"But the problem is, we have more sick people living within our communities."

She said a lot of preparation work had been done ahead of upcoming strikes "to make sure patient safety is not compromised".

But she added the Welsh government was under "severe financial pressure", with 65% of its NHS budget already going towards staff.

"We do not have the budget to meet the aspirations of those doctors. We understand their frustration, we understand there has been an erosion due to inflation over that time… the only option we have to look for that money is to take it from somewhere else in the NHS.

"When you see the kind of pressures we're under at the moment, you can see that's a pretty tough decision for a politician to make."