New figures obtained by Plaid Cymru have shown that more than fifty thousand hospital operations have been cancelled in Wales in the past two years.
There were 27,401 cancellations in 2011-12, marginally up on the 27,226 cancellations in the previous financial year. The statistics, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, also show that there was an increase in cancellations at Cardiff and Vale, Aneurin Bevan, Betsi Cadwaladr and Powys local health boards.
The increase in cancelled operations for Cardiff and the Vale illustrates to other health boards that centralisation of services does not solve all your problems. Cardiff already has centralised services based at the Heath, and has a long held reputation of attracting people throughout the world to work there. Labour cannot blame the shortage of staff or the configuration of services for this basic mismanagement.
— ELIN JONES AM, PLAID CYMRU HEALTH SPOKESPERSON
Wales’ Health Minister has hit back, claiming 9,000 operations were cancelled by patients themselves and over 7,000 were cancelled by hospitals for “justifiable and professional clinical reasons”.
For Plaid Cymru to now try and make political capital out of decisions made by clinicians and patients, is quite frankly pathetic. Since the last election the number of cancelled operations has reduced by 5.5%. This is real progress.
— LESLEY GRIFFITHS AM, HEALTH MINISTER