Commenting on government statistics published today showing a further rise in the total number of patients experiencing delayed transfers of care, Shadow Minister for Health Darren Millar AM, said:
“Behind the scenes, there is a worrying rise in delayed transfers of care that needs to be tackled and overturned.
“We cannot allow bed blocking to return to the high levels we saw some years ago.
“While February’s increase was small, it follows a nine per cent hike in January, and any rise should be properly monitored by the minister and acted upon.
“While bed blocking is an extremely costly problem for the NHS in Wales, it also impacts upon the elderly and vulnerable in particular, seriously affecting their quality of life.
“The Welsh Government should consider the use of sanctions to ensure that this preventable and costly problem is eradicated from our hospitals once and for all.”
