The Shadow Health Minister – Andrew RT Davies MS – has demanded action from the Welsh Labour-led Government following the publication of figures today (August 25) that show an increase in the five-year average for all deaths in Wales (563 to 617), and a rate higher than that in England for Covid-related deaths (2.27 percent compared to 1.42 percent).
Of the health boards in Wales, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board recorded (BCUHB) – again - the highest number of deaths (three), all of them in Wrexham.
He said, however, that devastating though these figures are for the families involved, the Welsh Labour-led Government must focus its attention not only on Covid, but on non-Coronavirus cases, and action to tackle the backlog of diagnoses and treatment start times.
He said:
“Last week, I called on the Health Minister to detail what he is going to do to address the potential health crisis of backlogs in diagnoses and treatment caused by the pandemic.”
Referring to data supplied by the ONS, he said:
“Then, Covid-related deaths didn’t make it into the grim ‘Top 10’ of causes of death in Wales for June.
“We have seen other figures that show, for the failing BCUHB – run directly by the Labour Party for more than five years – increases in referral-to-treatment times over 36 weeks from 6,631 to a staggering 30,167 from July 2018 to July 2020. My concern is that this scale of increase might be replicated across Wales.
“I challenged the Health Minister to publish a detailed recovery plan for cancer services and a public information campaign to press home the message that GPs and the NHS in Wales are open for all.
“I am making the same call today, and will repeat it until he and his Labour Party colleagues admit that there is a problem and deal with it.”
Notes
The top 10, according to the ONS figures, comprises:
1. Ischaemic heart diseases
2. Dementia and Alzheimer's disease
3. Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus, and lung
4. Cerebrovascular diseases
5. Chronic lower respiratory diseases
6. Influenza and pneumonia
7. Malignant neoplasm of colon, sigmoid, rectum and anus
8. Symptoms, signs, and ill-defined conditions
9. Malignant neoplasm of prostate
10. Heart failure and complications and ill-defined heart disease