The Shadow Minister for Health has called Welsh Government management of NHS finances ‘a shambles’ following new comments made by the Director General of the NHS.
Darren Millar AM has said confirmation of an NHS ‘contingency fund’ amounts to ‘yet another bailout’ but still isn’t enough to support frontline staff and help health boards break even.
Giving evidence to an Assembly committee, NHS DG David Sissling confirmed the NHS ‘contingency fund’ stands at 50 million pounds. He also called Wales Audit Office forecasts of NHS funding ‘realistic’. In an updated report the WAO predicted a ‘most likely’ deficit of almost 70 million pounds in the current financial year.
Mr Millar said:
“It’s simple maths – the NHS cannot avoid the red this financial year.
“Even with stinging cuts to frontline services and massive reductions in support for frontline staff, the likelihood of our NHS breaking even is almost non-existent.
“No matter how it’s disguised, the contingency fund basically amounts to yet another bailout. That’s something that the Health Minister said would not be needed.
“On the one hand she tells them there is no option but to break even. On the other hand she stashes millions in the bank for a bailout. Labour’s management of this situation is an absolute shambles.
“The truth is our health boards cannot cope with Labour’s record-breaking cuts.
“They have been pushed to the edge of a cliff and there’s no way back. The answer is not to slash and burn. It’s to deliver the services the people of Wales deserve and give our NHS the priority and investment it needs.”
