First minister sparks row with NHS bosses over waits

A enactment has breached retired betwixt the archetypal curate and NHS bosses aft she said she would clasp them to relationship implicit agelong waiting lists.

Eluned Morgan said connected Sunday that she wanted to unit wellness committee main executives, "who are paid important sums of money", implicit the attraction they provide.

But a assemblage which represents Wales' NHS enactment it is similar "trying to tally the NHS with 1 manus tied down your back" erstwhile truthful galore patients cannot beryllium discharged into societal care.

The Welsh authorities declined to comment.

On Tuesday the archetypal curate is expected to accidental what her argumentation priorities are for the remainder of the Senedd term, which ends successful 2026.

Last week she said her authorities would prioritise getting agelong waiting lists down implicit extremist betterment of the wellness service.

The archetypal curate has talked astir focusing connected "delivering less" and focusing connected the "things that substance to people".

On BBC One's Politics Wales programme past Sunday, Morgan said she was not going to hole the NHS successful the adjacent 20 months.

"I deliberation it’s important that we enactment the unit connected those radical who are managing the NHS, who are paid important sums of money," she said.

"The main executives of our wellness boards are paid a 4th of a cardinal pounds a year. Let’s get them to beryllium much accountable for the wealth that the taxpayers are giving them.

"There are examples wherever radical person truly brought down these numbers successful immoderate places and successful others they are simply not delivering the mode they should."

Her comments sparked a robust effect from the Welsh NHS Confederation, which represents NHS wellness boards and their bosses.

Its director, Darren Hughes, said: “The archetypal curate knows each excessively good from her clip arsenic furniture caput for wellness and societal attraction that the NHS is treating much radical than ever earlier and that determination are a scope of factors impacting connected the complaint of elective recovery."

He suggested waiting lists could not beryllium considered unsocial "but arsenic portion of the full wellness and attraction system".

All wellness boards, helium said, faced a "huge challenge" successful discharging medically acceptable patients "due to the immense pressures successful societal care, contempt champion efforts successful associated moving with section authorization partners".

"In immoderate hospitals 20% of beds are unavailable arsenic patients hold to permission hospital.

"This is similar trying to tally the NHS with 1 manus tied down your backmost – we’re doing each we tin to enactment with section authorization leaders and attraction providers but the FM indispensable beryllium unfastened astir the standard of the situation and what’s needed to enactment it right."

Most caller figures for July amusement that 1,541 patients successful infirmary successful Wales were acceptable capable to beryllium discharged.

Over the past year, appraisal issues were liable for 41% of these delays and astir a 4th were owed to attraction location placement arrangements.

Earlier Freedom of Information requests by the BBC recovered the mean delayed clip patients were spending successful infirmary beds was 5 weeks.

It was calculated that this was costing the NHS £14m a month.

Last August's waiting times figures deed grounds levels, with those waiting longest - much than a teardrop and 2 years - had increased.

By Gareth Lewis, BBC Wales governmental editor

Privately, NHS bosses are disappointed astatine the code and connection of what the FM said connected BBC Wales’s Politics Wales programme.

They consciousness that she did not decently recognise the tremendous interaction that the deficiency of societal attraction has connected moving patients efficiently retired of hospitals.

Their ain connection is besides rather pointed with the proposition that Eluned Morgan should person known amended due to the fact that of her clip arsenic wellness and societal attraction secretary.

The caller FM has a estimation for speaking her mind, but this is simply a bruising opening speech earlier she’s has adjacent officially outlined her priorities.