Socialist Party Wales Socialism In Wales
By Joe Fathallah
A report from Heathcare Inspectorate Wales has exposed the terrible conditions faced by patients and staff at the Accident & Emergency of Wales’s biggest hospital, the University Hospital of Wales (UHW), following an inspection on 25th-27th March.
Staff were reduced to tears due to the lack of time and resources available to properly care for patients. Some patients wait over 20 hours in the assessment unit, and the waiting facilities are often cramped and uncomfortable. Food and water are regularly unavailable, and the lounge area offers no privacy.
The report made clear that “during the course of our inspection we saw many examples of staff being kind and compassionate to patients. We saw staff treating patients with respect, courtesy and politeness.” Clearly, this is an issue of underfunding and lack of resources.
UHW is the only A&E unit in Cardiff, with a population of around 350,000. But with large parts of the South Wales valleys also reliant on UHW as their closest A&E unit, the hospital’s 1080 beds must provide for a population of over half a million people. According to the 2015 OECD figures, the UK has around 2.6 hospital beds per 1000 people. By comparison, Germany has over 8, and Japan has over 13!
UHW hasn’t always been this strained. The Cardiff Royal Infirmary (CRI) had an A&E unit which was closed in 1999, a short-sighted step which has resulted in the current crisis. The CRISIS campaign (Cardiff Royal Infirmary Save Its Services), within which Socialist Party members played leading roles, mobilised huge numbers in defence of the CRI, even submitting a petition with over 100,000 signatures to the Welsh Assembly. As a result, the CRI site has been saved from complete closure, and some healthcare facilities are still provided, including GP surgeries and a sexual health clinic. However the loss of beds from the CRI has contributed to the terrible crisis at UHW.
An action plan has been agreed with the Cardiff and Vale University Heath Board to address some of the report’s findings. But this means that the Welsh Assembly must fully fund our NHS to provide care we need. Therefore, Socialist Party Wales is calling for:
- Re-open the A&E unit at the Cardiff Royal Infirmary, to relieve the pressure on UHW.
- End the staff shortages – for the recruitment of hundreds of new health professionals with an offer of free education, plus a grant for all medical and nursing students who commit to work in the Welsh NHS for five years.
- Increase the number of A&E doctors to reduce stress and encourage recruitment
- For the Welsh government to refuse to implement Tory spending cuts, and to launch a mass campaign for proper funding for our NHS, involving patients, NHS workers and the wider community.
