Quote:
Originally Posted by Russ
When I also lived in Cardiff the waiting lists were astronomical which is why it feels to me more like an individual Borough/Trust issue
|
Despite being by far the largest population centre, our hospital only offered 30 hours' of diabetic clinics per week, less than that provided in other Health Boards around Wales. That was addressed by packing-in appointments in blocks that saw a higher throughput for a while. But then the complaints of long waiting times once at the hospital started to appear.
To address this, the management moved the clinic to an old nurses' accommodation block at the far corner of the site, with little or no parking nearby. The hours available increased, but the chance of getting the required annual checkup dropped like a stone, Newly-diagnosed patients were prioritised for a while I understand, but complications of diabetes, of which there are many, began to add a greater load to the department.
And then management started moving all sorts of diagnosis and treatment out of the city to another site. But then they had to move some clinics from that remote site to the main site when waiting lists grew rapidly.
Winter flu added numbers to the lists every year, and many departments effectively closed during COVID and the following months.
And as a "centre of excellence" a lot of patients are coming from further afield, out of their own Health Board areas, adding to the pressures on our hospital.
Starmer often states something along the lines of "The NHS under the Conservatives, is broken". He fails each time to mention the state of the NHS in Wales, a separate body, that has been under Labour control for 25 years.