Lib Dems call for fundamental reform of NHS

The Senedd will today (20th September) debate a motion on NHS funding in Wales, following news that total overspends by Wales’s 7 health boards could reach £800m. The First Minister has also claimed that Welsh public services face a real terms £900m inflationary shortfall since the spending review in 2021.

Jane Dodds has called for certainty that rural Wales will “not be left short changed” and residents “left further behind” in accessing services.

Commenting ahead of the debate, Jane Dodds MS said:

“We can’t forget, in discussing figures and budgets, that there will be a real human impact to the public spending cuts that will be made. Patients and staff must be protected from deeper and deeper cuts to public spending.

“I also want certainty that rural Wales will not be left short changed and residents left behind, finding it even harder to access the care they need.

“This wasn’t inevitable. Year after year, savings in the health service are made on the backs of one off cuts or changes. It cannot go on.

“The NHS spends millions on agency workers, stress and sickness rates are higher than before pandemic, and there are thousands of vacancies. For the sake of patients and staff, the NHS needs reform, not knee-jerk reactions.”