Darren Millar
Commenting on the publication of figures uncovered by Wales Online showing that 267 Welsh patients waited over four hours to be transferred to A&E from an ambulance, Darren Millar AM, Shadow Health Minister, said:
“Waiting over four hours to transfer a patient in need of medical treatment and probably in considerable pain and discomfort, is totally unacceptable.
“These figures highlight the vicious cycle in the Welsh NHS where Labour’s budget cuts have slashed bed numbers by a fifth, so A&E units are full to capacity and ambulances are unable to transfer patients, which impacts on ambulance response times to other emergency calls.
“Labour Ministers need to address the effects of their legacy of record-breaking budget cuts, which has hit frontline services hard, constrained capacity and put even more pressure on clinical staff.
“It is interesting to note that the hospitals with the highest number of patients waiting over four hours to be transferred from an ambulance also have death rates which are considerably above the England and Wales average.”
