Ambulance response times in Wales have fallen to a record low in December with a staggering 60.5% of red calls (those deemed most life-threatening) being above the official target times. This figure is the highest on record and beats previous numbers in December 2021 and 2020, the latter of which was at the height of the pandemic.
Figures have also shown that a shocking 78% of amber calls, which include heart attacks and strokes took over an hour to arrive.
Additionally, over 12,000 people across Wales spent over 12 hours in A&E, with 18,888 spending over 8 hours, far in excess of the target time of 4 hours and pointing towards problems in discharging stable patients.
Responding to the new NHS Wales statistics, Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS said:
“Increased excess deaths, thousands on waiting lists and hours until an ambulance arrives, this is a horror show that the Welsh Labour Government has failed to get a hold of. People will be petrified when they or their loved ones fall ill.
“The Welsh NHS isn’t just at breaking point – it’s splitting at its very seams.
“We cannot continue to ignore the elephant in the room which is social care. Labour and Plaid Cymru promised social care reform in their Co-operation Deal, yet so far nothing meaningful has been announced. Until the Welsh Government takes the social care crisis seriously, our emergency departments will continue to struggle as they cannot discharge patients and ambulances sit queuing outside hospitals instead of helping more people.”
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