With 40,000 people in North Wales waiting more than a year for hospital treatments, Clwyd West MS Darren Millar is calling on Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board to ensure that they have a clear plan in place to deal with the backlog as we come out of lockdown.

Routine and non-urgent care was paused at the health board’s hospitals last year as they dealt with the pandemic.

However, now that the number of people with Covid in hospitals and in communities in the region has started to fall, the health board has said it is at a stage to restart routine non-urgent care.

Darren is therefore calling on the health board’s management team to ensure they have a strategy in place to deal with the backlog as quickly as possible.     

He said;

“40,000 people have been waiting more than a year for treatment in North Wales, which is a huge number. We all understand the unprecedented pressures that were placed on hospitals across the country due to the coronavirus, but people here were already waiting longer than in other parts of Wales before the pandemic hit. 

“It is therefore crucial that the Health Board ensures that it has a clear plan with the capacity and resources to tackle this backlog.

“Patients in North Wales have been badly let down for years and it is high time that their needs were prioritised. The pandemic must not be used as an excuse for poor performance for years to come.”