Drakeford says there are too many hospitals in Wales

Wales has too many hospitals and too many beds, according to Finance Minister Mark Drakeford.

Former Labor First Minister told “For Wales, See Wales” Podcast Wales was “over-hospitalised” and more money should be spent on primary care.

He said that the hospital sector “sucked up resources” into the health service, but most people’s experience of using the NHS was through their GP surgery.

The Welsh Conservatives have criticized the shortage of hospital beds in Wales in recent Senedd exchanges and said that Drakeford’s podcast comments revealed “Labour’s isolation after 26 years in power”.

Drakeford said: “If you’re asking me, if I had a blank sheet of paper and I could do the things I think need to be done, we would have fewer hospitals in Wales. We would have a lot There are hospitals and lots of beds.”

“It’s true. Secondary care, as it’s called the hospital sector, sucks up resources into the health service, and yet nine out of 10 contacts between the person and the health service happen in primary care, in your GP surgery.

“But money is not the point. Money is sucked into the hospital sector because it is too expensive to run. So the first thing I would say is that we have a shortage of hospitalisations in Wales.”

His comments appear to conflict with those of the First Minister, Alunred Morgan.

Responding to Tory group leader Darren Miller, she told the Senedd: “We would have loved to build a few more hospitals, but when it came to your government (the UK’s Conservative government) we were given a £1 million increase in terms of capital ) was in power.

“There’s not much you can do with a £1 million increase. Thankfully, now, as a result of the Labor government we have had a huge increase, the first significant increase in Wales in terms of health and in terms of capital expenditure.”

He later said there was a “recognition” that more support was needed for change in the community and more preventative work needed to be done.

Drakeford is responsible for the Welsh Government’s spending plans and is currently in talks to try to get a deal for its budget to pass a vote in the Senedd.

He published a draft budget last month that included an extra £600m for the Welsh NHS to bring down record waiting lists, which was identified as a top priority by Morgan.

As well as being First Minister between 2018 and 2024, Drakeford was interim Cabinet Secretary for Health for one month in 2024 and held the job full-time for three years until May 2016.

On the podcast, he agreed with the suggestion that if he had a magic wand he would have fewer hospitals and devote 50% more cash to “local” care.

When asked why he could not do that, he replied: “Well, you try proposing that a hospital in Wales closes down”, before explaining that people have to “believe The work” was that alternatives would be provided and improvements would be made, such as more modern local facilities.

He said that people are “afraid that they will get something worse instead of something better”.

Welsh Conservatives have highlighted the shortage of hospital beds in recent exchanges in the Senedd, leading to an angry clash between Miller and Morgan.

On 7 January Miller told MS that the number of beds in the Welsh NHS had fallen by more than 20% since 2010 and accused Morgan and his Labor predecessors of promising to build new hospitals but failing to deliver them. Was accused.

Morgan responded that Miller did not understand the issue and that “a lot of people” are in bed who shouldn’t be there due to lack of social care.

On Tuesday this week, the issue of NHS beds was raised again following a report by the Royal College of Nursing on the treatment of patients in hospital corridors, which Miller said found more than 500 times the number of beds as a problem. Has been quoted.

The First Minister said Wales has more beds per head of population than England.

Welsh Conservative shadow health secretary James Evans said Drakeford’s words on the podcast highlighted “Labour’s isolation after 26 years in power”.

“Our NHS is beset by excessive bureaucracy and bloated management,” Evans said.

“It is time for fundamental reform to prioritize patient care and fix our NHS.”

Mabon ap Gwynfor, plaid Cymru health and social care spokesperson, said: “On a day when waiting lists again hit record highs, a senior Labor cabinet member is making the case for reduced NHS resources.

“This is a shocking reflection of Labor’s attitude towards staff and patients and how the First Minister’s so-called listening exercise was a PR stunt.”