Darren Millar
Labour Assembly Members today voted to prevent Labour MP Ann Clwyd giving evidence to the National Assembly’s Health Committee about the Welsh NHS.
A vote was taken in the Assembly’s Health and Social Care Committee on whether to invite the NHS campaigner and Labour MP to give evidence regarding her concerns about the Welsh NHS. All Labour AMs voted against and defeated the motion by one vote.
Ann Clwyd has previously backed Welsh Conservative calls for a Keogh-style inquiry into the Welsh health service.
Last week, 2013 Risk Adjusted Mortality Index (RAMI) figures show that all but three Welsh hospitals have above average death rates, with some so dangerously high, that in other parts of the UK they would demand an inquiry.
Darren Millar AM, Shadow Minister for Health, said, “This is the same old Labour Party putting its narrow party political interests before the interests of getting to the bottom of the problems in the Welsh NHS.
“Inviting Ann Clwyd to give evidence to the Assembly would provide AMs with an opportunity to hear her valuable insight into hospital death rates, along with the experiences of patients whose evidence she has received.
“The Labour Party is closing ranks and trying to shut down scrutiny of its disastrous handling of the Welsh NHS, which has seen dangerously high death rates, emergency and waiting time targets missed regularly and cancer medicines denied to patients.
“This is a cynical attempt by Labour politicians to brush evidence about underperformance and failure in the Welsh NHS under the carpet.
“The only way we can prevent a Mid-Staffs scandal in the Welsh NHS is to expose problems in our health service and take action to put them right, Ann Clwyd would have been able to assist in doing this.”
