Carwyn’s “Special Delivery”…? Doubling Welsh NHS waiting lists
Andrew RT Davies has challenged First Minister Carwyn Jones on his failure to deliver improved NHS waiting times in Wales – despite Labour promises to the contrary.
During FMQs, the Welsh Conservative Leader challenged the First Minister on a Labour leaflet issued in 2007 which pledged “shorter waiting times” under a Welsh Labour Government.
However, in Wales, there are currently 439,090 people on an NHS waiting list; with the figure having doubled under the First Minister’s leadership.
The claims also come as Labour’s First Minister launched the Labour Assembly campaign, calling for another five years to ‘finish the job’.
Meanwhile, a Labour leaflet from 2007 has been unearthed – promising shorter waiting times.
Speaking outside the chamber, Mr Davies said:
“Nine years ago Labour went into an election pledging to cut Welsh NHS waiting times.
“The result? 1-in-7 people in Wales on a waiting list and too many people still facing long, unnecessary and potentially dangerous delays for treatment.
“Carwyn Jones has the cheek to talk up his decade of delivery, when the public know full and well that his tenure has been an abject failure.
“The very foundations of the Welsh NHS has been compromised by 17 years of Labour rule and Carwyn’s pleas for five more years to make things worse should strike fear into the hearts of Welsh voters.
“Let’s be clear, the First Minister would’ve been sacked years ago if he worked for a private sector firm.
“Labour’s record-breaking NHS budget cuts have led to overlong waiting times, poor access to cancer treatments and hospital downgrading throughout Wales.
“The state of the NHS in Wales shows that Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party are not up to the job, with patients and frontline staff paying the price.
“Welsh voters have a clear choice: between changing to a better future or sticking to the same old ideas that aren’t working.”
