Following comments made by former First Minister and now Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Mark Drakeford, last week that the Welsh NHS has too many hospital beds, Leader of the Welsh Conservatives and Clwyd West MS Darren Millar has called for clarification on the Welsh Government’s position on the matter.

Speaking on a podcast last week, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance said: “If you're asking me, if I had a blank sheet of paper and could just do the things I think needed to be done, we would have fewer hospitals in Wales. We have too many hospitals and too many beds.”

In yesterday’s Business Statement, Darren said patients in Wales would contest this view.

Calling for a Statement from the Cabinet Secretary with responsibility for Health on the matter, he said:  

“I think many people across Wales were absolutely alarmed at how out of touch the Welsh Government was last week when the Cabinet Secretary for Finance made a statement that suggested that there were too many beds in the Welsh NHS, and too many hospitals.

“For those people left languishing in pain on waiting lists, because they need hospital treatment, that statement was absolutely outrageous.

“We need to clarify the Welsh Government’s position on the number of beds needed in the Welsh NHS, to ensure that the current configuration of our hospitals is not going to diminish, and indeed, to make sure that the new hospitals which the Welsh Government has promised will actually be delivered, especially given that the Cabinet Secretary for Finance holds the purse strings.”

In her response, the Trefnydd (Business Manager) gave no assurances on bed numbers.