Record Wrexham Maelor and Glan Clwyd A&E waits unacceptable, says FM
BBCLong accident and emergency waits in two north Wales hospitals are "unacceptable" and must be dealt with, First Minister Carwyn Jones has said.
Wrexham Maelor and Glan Clwyd saw record low emergency department performance in August.
Conservative assembly group leader Paul Davies accused the Welsh Government of failing patients in north Wales and of "sheer incompetence".
But Mr Jones blamed austerity and said ministers were providing support.
Fewer than half of patients attending Wrexham Maelor Hospital's A&E - 49.7% - were seen within four hours.
The target is 95%. It was the worst accident and emergency unit performance of any Welsh hospital on record.
At Glan Clwyd, in Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire, the figure was 52.9% - its own record low.
In the Senedd Mr Davies asked Carwyn Jones whether he was "ashamed" by the figures.
"This is a health board that has been under direct Welsh Government control for almost three and a half years," Mr Davies told him, referring to minister's control over the Betsi Cadwaladr health board through special measures.
"These are shocking statistics, and behind these figures are real people who are suffering as a result of your sheer incompetence to help this health board improve."
"You are clearly failing the people of north Wales."
Mr Jones said performance on the two sites was "unacceptable".
"The board, with £1.5m-worth of support from Welsh Government, has put in place arrangements to target improvements and actions in respect of the unscheduled care system in the north.
"We also provided £6.8m earlier this year to strengthen the health board's operational capacity at each of the three main hospitals in the north."
He added Mr Davies "cannot surely stand there and say that austerity has nothing to do with this", and said A&E provision is improving elsewhere in the NHS.