Welsh Conservatives today pledged to hold the governing parties to account for their failure to back Wales’ NHS as Labour-Plaid politicians prepare to force through cuts of £1billion to NHS funding in today’s vote on the Assembly Government’s Final Budget.
Welsh Conservatives are committed to protecting the health budget in line with inflation for the lifetime of the next Assembly term.
The Assembly Government cut NHS funding by £435million in 2010/11, but plans to slash health funding by a further £1billion over the next three years.
Nick Ramsay AM, Shadow Minister for Health and Social Services, said, “Labour and Plaid Cymru politicians should be ashamed of the day they pushed through cuts to the Welsh NHS.
“Recent months have shown patients waiting longer for ambulance responses to emergency calls, waiting longer for admission to Accident & Emergency departments and waiting longer for referrals to specialists for lifesaving cancer treatment.
“Many health services in Wales are already underfunded, especially in palliative care, where Welsh hospices receive only a fraction of the government funding available to those in England.
“Over the coming weeks, Labour and Plaid Cymru politicians need to explain why they are content to slash £1billion from a service, which is already failing to deliver the standards of care that the people of Wales rightly demand.
“Welsh Conservatives will continue to defend the rights of NHS patients and argue a strong case for protecting the health budget.”
