“Don’t ignore the health crisis any longer” says Rhun ap Iorwerth MS

Plaid Cymru will today (Wednesday 18 January) call for the Senedd to declare a Health Crisis in Wales.

One in five people in Wales are on an NHS waiting list, waits for treatment are at a record high, and NHS workers have taken to the picket lines over pay and working conditions.

Plaid Cymru’s spokesperson for health and care, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS said

“This is no longer just about recovery from the pandemic – and it hasn’t been for some time. This is about acknowledging that our health service is in crisis. Wales needs its Government to step up to the challenge and come up with the solutions needed for these long standing problems.

“We’ve had a Climate Emergency and a Nature Emergency declared. Given the current state of the NHS in Wales, Welsh Government need to admit that our health service is under severe pressure to the extent that it is currently in crisis.

“Doing so would bring about three key, positive steps: To help focus minds on finding new and innovative ways to address the problems we face; To focus all spending powers – however scarce – on the issues that matter, and nothing is more important currently than resolving the pay dispute, and; To look again at government structures and processes to ensure they are best geared to deal with this crisis, in much the same way that changes were made following the declaration of the Climate Crisis.”