In First Minister’s Questions today (July 8), Paul Davies MS – the Leader of the Opposition in the Welsh Parliament – called for action over the backlog of operations caused by the Covid pandemic and lockdown.
Welsh Conservative Mr Davies cited concerns raised by Royal College of Surgeons and the British Heart Foundation that further delays to some treatments and surgeries could result in more complex procedures being required.
Speaking later, Mr Davies said:
“I acknowledge the levels of bio-security required for routine operations and other treatments to recommence, and it’s a thankless task for our doctors, surgeons, and nurses – and the health boards – to manage. However, it is the patients and those awaiting treatment that my thoughts are with now.
“Lockdown is lifting, and it’s critical that more is done to safely expedite an increase in the rate of operations. Wales has lost many people to this awful virus; we cannot – we must not – let people survive Coronavirus only to die from a raft of other treatable conditions.”