Welsh NHS is 'unreliable' says BMA Cymru Head
The Welsh Government says they are putting in more money to improve the health service.
The head of the British Medical Association Cymru Dr Iona Collins has described the NHS in Wales as unreliable.
She said that whilst the NHS used to be the jewel in the crown of health services across the world, underfunding and lack of resources have knocked it off its pedestal.
Reacting to the BMA's comments, A Welsh Government spokesperson said:
“Every day NHS Wales provides a high-quality service to tens of thousands of people but we are working hard to ensure it can meet the demand.
Despite continued pressure on our budgets we are increasing our investment in the NHS. 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''.
Currently, over 30,000 people in Wales have been waiting more than 2 years for hospital treatment after being referred.
The spokesperson for the Welsh Government highlighted the Governments work to reach deals with striking health unions, saying “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''.
Also reacting to the BMA's comments, Welsh Conservative Health Spokesperson Russel George said 'before the pandemic Wales was performing poorly which meant that we went into the pandemic in a more difficult position.
'Therefore it has taken us longer to recover from the consequences of the pandemic.
'We are in a very difficult decision when it comes to the NHS, In Wales we are in a more dire position than the rest of the UK'.