Patients across Sir Gaerfyrddin are facing appalling wait times exceeding two years for routine cataract surgery following the catastrophic suspension of outsourced referrals in Hywel Dda University Health Board, Reform UK MS Gareth Beer has warned today.
The disruption, caused by the exhaustion of temporary Welsh Government recovery funding, saw referrals to private provider SpaMedica frozen, directly impacting over 1,200 local patients. With Hywel Dda facing a permanent capacity deficit of 30 cataract procedures per week, core NHS services cover just 40 of the 70 weekly referrals required, forcing clinicians to ration care.
Gareth Beer MS, will be calling on the Welsh Government to immediately abandon its reliance on late-year ‘sticking-plaster’ pots and implement a permanent, recurrent funding model for West Wales healthcare.
Gareth Beer MS, Member of the Senedd for Sir Gaerfyrddin, commented: ‘It is an absolute outrage that elderly constituents across Carmarthenshire are being forced to sit in the dark for over two years, losing their independence and quality of life, simply because Cardiff Bay refuses to fund our health service properly.’
‘Bouncing between temporary private contracts and frozen referral lists is no way to run a health service. Hywel Dda is short by 30 cataract operations every single week, yet Ministers expect short-term cash drops at the end of the financial year to magically fix structural workforce shortages.’
‘When every single health board in Wales is locked in Government escalation, the system is fundamentally broken. I will be calling on the Health Minister to strip away central administrative waste and deliver multi-year recurrent funding so our local NHS can hire permanent surgeons and keep operating theatres open.’
