The Acting Leader of the Opposition has asked the First Minister to apologise for misleading the chamber after his refusal to accept that NHS waiting lists are getting worse.
Official figures show that 227,000 patients were waiting to start treatment in the NHS when Carwyn Jones became First Minister.
341,000 are now waiting.
That’s a rise of 50 per cent.
During First Minister’s Questions on Tuesday June 28th, Mr Jones was asked if he accepted that waiting lists were getting worse. His answer was ‘No’.
During First Minister’s Questions on Tuesday July 5th, Mr Jones was asked if he would apologise for ‘misleading the chamber’. He replied by admitting orthopaedic waiting times were particularly bad.
Both questions were asked by Acting Leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Assembly, Paul Davies AM.
He said: “It’s a great shame that the First Minister has not seen fit to apologise for this waiting times blunder.
“The situation is clearly getting worse – particularly in orthopaedics – and I am glad that he has at least finally recognised that.
“What I would now like to hear is confirmation that he got it wrong when – last November – the First Minister claimed ‘there is enough money available for the health service over the next three years’.
“How can that be, if an extra injection of tens of millions of pounds has been announced to deal with waiting lists?”
According to the National Assembly’s Record of Proceedings, the First Minister has referred to the English NHS on ten separate occasions since the start of 2011, when questioned on health issues in Wales by the Welsh Conservatives.
Mr Davies said: “Whenever we bring up health, the First Minister evades the issue and instead decides to discuss the NHS in England.
“There are serious problems in our health system that need to be discussed and dealt with.
“Carwyn Jones should not continue to ignore them.”
