What new #health secretary James Murray must do for the NHS
From evicting #Palantir to tackling cause of spiralling #WaitingLists, here’s how Murray can shape future of the #NHS
https://www.opendemocracy.net/what-new-health-secretary-james-murray-must-do-for-the-nhs/
Private companies working for the #NHS are making billions in profit. Some are even funnelling cash into offshore #TaxHavens while millions of us are still stuck on #WaitingLists.
And...20,000 #NHSjobs are also being lined up for the chop over the next two years.
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‘Cooking the books’: Ombudsman slams ‘systemic failure’ at health board over latest knee surgery scandal
The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales has delivered a damning verdict, branding the case part of a systemic failure in the way the Health Board manages its waiting lists. It comes less than two years after three earlier public interest reports exposed similar blunders in orthopaedic care, and just months after an independent review of maternity and neonatal services found repeated failings and forced Welsh Government intervention
Together, the scandals paint a picture of a Health Board struggling to maintain basic standards across critical services, with watchdogs warning that Swansea Bay has failed to learn from past mistakes.
Patient’s fury: “Cooking the books”
The man, known only as Mr W, told investigators he believed the Health Board was “cooking the books” when he discovered his waiting time clock had been reset without his knowledge. He had already been waiting more than 276 weeks — over five years — yet officials claimed his wait was just 60 weeks.
The Ombudsman agreed the reset was inappropriate and amounted to maladministration, saying it robbed Mr W of the chance to undergo surgery. By the time the error was uncovered, he was no longer fit to proceed.
A catalogue of errors
The investigation found no clinician had ever documented Mr W as medically unfit when his clock was reset in October 2023. Instead, he was sent for further tests, which later confirmed he was fit to go ahead. Yet the reset had already been applied, wiping years off his waiting time.
The Health Board admitted an “administrative error” in how the reset was recorded, and conceded Mr W was never told about the change. What shocked the Ombudsman further was that Swansea Bay had already been ordered to audit its waiting lists after the earlier scandals. That audit was supposed to catch mistakes like this, but it failed — raising serious doubts about whether other patients have also been short‑changed.
Health Board forced into public apology
Chief Executive Abigail Harris has now been forced to issue a public apology after the Ombudsman’s report exposed the blunders. In a statement, she said:
“The Health Board would like to publicly apologise for the failings identified and for the distress that this caused to the patient. We fully accept the Ombudsman’s recommendations and will implement them within the prescribed timescales.”
The Ombudsman’s recommendations go far beyond a simple apology. Swansea Bay must retrain staff on the rules for managing waiting lists, making sure cases like Mr W’s are handled properly in future. An independent re‑audit of orthopaedic waiting lists will now be commissioned to check if other patients have been treated unfairly, and if so, they too must be apologised to and have their records corrected. The Board itself has been told to take direct oversight, with a committee monitoring compliance to ensure these failures are not repeated.
A scandal with wider echoes
For Mr W, the apology comes too late. His five‑year wait has ended not with surgery, but with the door slammed shut. And his words — accusing the Health Board of “cooking the books” — will now echo far beyond his own case, raising fresh fears for thousands of other patients across Swansea Bay.
With maternity services already under special measures after repeated failings, and orthopaedics now branded a “systemic failure,” the Health Board faces mounting pressure to prove it can finally fix a broken system.
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
Independent review finds repeated failings in Swansea Bay maternity care
Welsh Government escalates intervention after a damning review of maternity and neonatal services.
Health Minister escalates Swansea Bay maternity services
Concerns from families trigger enhanced monitoring across maternity services.
Patient group reveals shocking treatment of new mothers at Singleton Hospital
Llais report details mothers feeling unheard, unsupported, or unsafe in local maternity care.
Leading KC appointed to oversee review of Swansea Bay maternity services
Senior legal oversight brought in to drive accountability and improvements.
#administrativeError #featured #hospitalWaitingList #kneeReplacementSurgery #NHSWaitingList #orthopaedicCare #orthopaedics #PublicServicesOmbudsmanForWales #SwanseaBayNHS #SwanseaBayUniversityHealthBoard #WaitingLists
Regions are back in the NHS—but will it move the needle? Streeting must focus on reducing waiting lists, boosting staff and care now—not just new structures. #NHS #WaitingLists #HealthPolicy
NHS Facing Severe Pressure as Waiting Lists and Treatment Delays Increase
Doctors are raising alarms about the increasing pressure on NHS hospitals in England, as new data reveals that waiting lists for routine treatments have grown for the second consecutive month. In July, approximately 7.4 million planned procedures were pending, an increase of 34,000 compared to June,... [More info]
NHS league tables are back. Oversimplified, demoralising, and meaningless for patients. What we need? Investment, leadership, and solutions for waiting lists—not shaming hospitals. #NHS #Healthcare #WaitingLists
NHS treatment wait times fall by two-thirds in Wales – but miss target on eliminating two-year-long waiting lists
The latest figures show by the end of March 2025, waiting times of more than two years have fallen to just under 8,400 – the lowest level since April 2021.
The overall size of the waiting list has also fallen for the fourth month in a row and there were also falls in long waits for outpatient appointments and diagnostic treatments in March 2025.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats have criticised the failure to meet targets on eliminating two-year-long waits for treatment.
Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS said: “Two-year-long waiting lists for NHS treatment are unacceptable, given England virtually wiped out waits of this length several years ago, serious questions remain about how Labour have managed the NHS in Wales.
“People should never be forced to go private because they are spending months in pain waiting for treatment; the public deserves better.”
Swansea Bay University Health Board and Hywel Dda University Health Board have both been singled out for praise in reducing waiting times.
Welsh Government Health Secretary, Jeremy Miles said:“The latest NHS performance figures show long waiting times are now at their lowest levels since April 2021 and the overall size of the waiting list has fallen for four months in a row.
“There are now just under 8,400 people waiting more than two years.
“I would particularly like to praise Swansea Bay and Hywel Dda university health boards, which have joined Powys Health Board in having no patients waiting more than a year for a first outpatient appointment or two years for treatment.”
The latest figures also show the best performance against the 62-day cancer target since August 2021, at 63.5%.
Mr Miles added: “Our focus is now on supporting the NHS to continue to eliminate all two-year waits; to reduce the overall waiting list by 200,000 over the course of this year and to restore the maximum eight-week waiting time for diagnostic tests by March 2026.
“This is an ambitious aim and will require hard work over the coming year from everyone in the health service, but I am confident that together we can achieve this.
“I’d like to thank our NHS staff for their hard work getting us to this point.
“Together, we can continue to improve timely access to care for people across Wales.”
Responding to the general state of the statistics, Welsh Lib Dem leader Jane Dodds MS said: “Waiting lists in Wales are far too high, even though some reductions are welcome. Labour’s mismanagement of the health service in Wales for the past 25 years has cost the public dearly.
“Unless social care is fixed, we won’t see the long-term reduction in pressure on our hospitals, and that is why fixing social care is the Welsh Liberal Democrats’ biggest priority as we head into next year’s Senedd elections.”
The Welsh Government say that pressure on emergency services continues but performance against the four-hour and 12-hour emergency department target improved in April 2025, compared to the previous month. And more than half of life-threatening 999 ‘red’ calls to the Welsh Ambulance Service were responded to within the eight-minute target time.
Over 10,000 patients waited in A&E for over 12 hours in April – the target is zero.
James Evans MS, Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care said: “Any success claimed by Labour Ministers today will be overshadowed by the fact that the Welsh NHS remains fundamentally broken after 26 years of mismanagement.
“The Welsh Labour Government is still missing its cancer targets and no one at all should be waiting two years for treatment or over 12 hours in A&E, let alone over ten thousand patients.
“The Welsh Conservatives would go much further, guaranteeing 12-month maximum waits for treatment and 7-day waits for GP appointments, by declaring a health emergency and directing the resources and the entire apparatus of government at the health service.”
First Minister Eluned Morgan said: “The statistics speak for themselves – yet another month where waiting list times are tumbling.
“This is only because we have two Labour governments working in partnership to deliver on the areas that matter most to people in Wales.”
Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens said: “The latest drop in NHS waiting times is great news for Welsh patients.
“I welcome these month-on-month improvements which come after we have provided the Welsh Government with record £21 billion to fund public services like the NHS. The UK Government will continue to support their hard work to reduce waiting lists.
“Wales has two Labour governments working together and our partnership in power is delivering change for people and communities across the country.”
#Health #HywelDdaNHS #NHSWales #SwanseaBayNHS #WaitingLists #WelshGovernment
Putting top doctors in areas with high unemployment sees waiting lists plummet | The Independent
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/nhs-waiting-lists-unemployment-sickness-streeting-b2715797.html
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