£1.3 million has been spent by Hywel Dda Health Board and its predecessors in the past three years – money which would have been better spent on frontline patient services says local AM Paul Davies.
The Preseli Pembrokeshire AM is concerned that the NHS is paying private firms large sums of public cash for providing advice.
The figures, obtained by the Welsh Conservatives under the Freedom of Information Act, reveal that NHS Wales has spent at least £18m on consultancy fees in the past decade.
In the past three years £1,327,000 – or more than £430,000 per year – was spent in the Hywel Dda health area.
“This is a huge sum of money that would have been better spent on providing more doctors and nurses,” said Mr Davies.
“We know that Withybush has faced a junior doctor crisis in recent months and people are unhappy with the out-of-hours GP service – these are frontline services crying out for more investment.”
Jonathan Morgan AM, the former shadow Welsh health minister who uncovered the figures, visited the hospital with Mr Davies last year.
“These are extraordinary figures and an awful lot of taxpayers’ money not to be directed at front-line health services,” he said. “We know already that there is a historic debt crisis in the NHS. In these extremely difficult economic times, expenditure needs to be rigorously controlled.”
Mr Davies added: “The new health boards cannot expect the Health Minister to keep writing debts off year after year.
“It is therefore vital that these new organisations keep on top of every pound that is spent and, more importantly, where it is spent.”
