Welsh NHS “teetering on the brink of financial abyss”
An Assembly Member has today claimed that the Welsh NHS is “teetering on the brink of financial abyss”, urging “root-and-branch” reform.
It comes after news today which indicated that four of Wales’ seven health boards are due to see their overall budget deficits triple in size, and will not be bailed out by the Welsh Government.
Commenting, Angela Burns AM, Welsh Conservative Shadow Health Secretary, said:
“These soaring deficits show a health service teetering on the brink of financial abyss.
“Failures by the Welsh Labour Government to initiate long-term planning measures for health boards and to break the culture of waste and inefficiency have all played their part in the mess our NHS now finds itself in.
“There is a real risk that health boards will soon be forced to cut vital services in order to make savings, and it’s patients and staff who will be left paying the price.
“To avoid any further damage to services and public confidence in them, the Cabinet Secretary needs to instigate swift root-and-branch reforms of the health service focused on better planning, smarter spending and stronger public health messaging.”
