Commenting on new government figures showing a rise in the number of patients waiting more than 36 weeks for treatment, Shadow Minister for Health, Darren Millar AM said:
“The Government itself states that no patient should be waiting more than 36 weeks for treatment. Yet there were more than seven thousand in July.
“With the exception of March, that figure has risen for a damning 14 months in a row. To put it simply – the government’s targets really aren’t worth the paper they’re written on.
“More and more patients are waiting longer for treatment – often in discomfort – while Labour ploughs on with its savage cuts to the health budget.
“What makes this situation worse is the predictability of the rise. Why should Welsh patients have to put up with a health service where ever-increasing waits become a way of life?
“I welcome Labour’s recently revealed u-turn in using the private sector to bring down orthopaedic waiting times. What we now need is an opportunity to learn more about that – and debate the implications – within the Senedd.”
