James Evans says the situation confronting patients in Welsh hospitals is a “national disgrace”.
The Brecon and Radnorshire MS and Conservative health spokesman said at the Senedd that “corridor care” should never have been allowed to become the norm.
He said people have seen harrowing reports and shocking testimonies, and know that this is a crisis that can no longer be ignored.
Mr Evans said that despite the best efforts of doctors and nurses, this is a crisis in which patients - mothers, fathers, grandparents - are left waiting in chairs for hours and sometimes days waiting for a bed.
Video from Senedd.tv
The Brecon and Radnorshire MS and Conservative health spokesman said at the Senedd that “corridor care” should never have been allowed to become the norm.
He said people have seen harrowing reports and shocking testimonies, and know that this is a crisis that can no longer be ignored.
Mr Evans said that despite the best efforts of doctors and nurses, this is a crisis in which patients - mothers, fathers, grandparents - are left waiting in chairs for hours and sometimes days waiting for a bed.
Video from Senedd.tv
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NewsTranscript
00:00to move the motion.
00:02Dear Deputy Presiding Officer and I move the motion
00:04tabled in the name of my colleague Paul Davies.
00:06Today we're debating an issue
00:08that should never have become the norm
00:10in Welsh hospitals. Corridor
00:12care. We've all seen
00:14the harrowing reports, we've
00:16all read the shocking testimonies
00:18and more importantly we all
00:20know that this is a crisis that
00:22can no longer be ignored.
00:24A crisis where patients
00:26mothers, fathers,
00:28grandparents are left waiting in
00:30chairs for hours and sometimes
00:32days waiting for a bed.
00:34A crisis where ambulance
00:36crews spend hours parked outside
00:38hospitals because there simply
00:40isn't enough space inside
00:42and when they get inside they're
00:44left waiting in corridors.
00:46A crisis where doctors
00:48and nurses despite their dedication
00:50and tireless efforts are being
00:52pushed beyond breaking point.
00:54Describing their workplaces
00:56as war zones with patients
00:58placed everywhere.
01:00This is a national
01:02disgrace.
01:04And let me be absolutely clear
01:06this is not the fault
01:08of our heroic NHS staff
01:10who do a phenomenal job
01:12under extreme circumstances.
01:14They are the ones holding
01:16this broken system together.
01:18This is a problem
01:20of a failure of political
01:22leadership, a failure of
01:24planning and a failure to
01:26invest in where it matters most.
01:28We can fix the
01:30crisis in corridor care
01:32but it requires real leadership
01:34real investment
01:36and a real plan. Working
01:38with the sector to develop the plans
01:40needed for change.
01:42The Royal College of Nursing
01:44has provided a clear
01:46practical road map to tackle
01:48corridor care and I commend them
01:50for their work in this area.
01:52Their report is not about quick
01:54fixes or shifting blame,
01:56it's about delivering real change.
01:58Change that will improve
02:00patient care and support our
02:02NHS workforce as we
02:04transition to an NHS
02:06in the future fit for purpose.
02:08The first step is
02:10ensuring dignity in care.
02:12Corridor care should never
02:14have been allowed to happen
02:16and we must never ever
02:18tolerate it. And this
02:20means making it a never event.
02:22Something so
02:24unacceptable that it must
02:26never happen. It means
02:28ensuring no patient is
02:30left in a chair for 24 hours
02:32left without proper monitoring
02:34without access to essential
02:36equipment and left without
02:38even basic dignity.
02:40It means recognising
02:42this is not just about
02:44accepting that this is the new normal
02:46and this is what we have to accept
02:48This is about patient
02:50safety because nurses
02:52and doctors have told us
02:54patients deteriorate in corridors
02:56and we must act.
02:58Patients struggle without oxygen
03:00without privacy
03:02some have even died while waiting
03:04for care. This is
03:06unacceptable. If we
03:08are serious about ending corridor care
03:10we must also free up
03:12hospital capacity. We must
03:14pause the reduction in hospital beds
03:16and conduct a national review
03:18of NHS capacity.
03:20Now let me be crystal clear
03:22this is not about blindly
03:24increasing bed numbers
03:26or making unrealistic promises
03:28to the electorate. That would be
03:30irresponsible and not something
03:32that a government in waiting, which we
03:34are, would do. It's
03:36about ensuring we have enough beds
03:38in the right places to meet demand
03:40but we also need to speed
03:42up hospital discharge.
03:44Right now many beds are occupied
03:46by people and patients who no
03:48longer need hospital care
03:50but have nowhere else to go.
03:52Why? Because social
03:54care is underfunded, under
03:56staffed and unable to take patients
03:58when they're ready to leave.
04:00The result, patients stuck in hospital
04:02beds when they could have been better
04:04cared for elsewhere.
04:06So we need to invest in social care
04:08not just for their dignity
04:10but to fix the entire system
04:12and we need a national
04:14conversation about how we do this
04:16as the social care system in its current
04:18form doesn't work
04:20and it's unfair to those individuals
04:22who paid into their system the
04:24whole life with the threat of losing everything
04:26to access social care.
04:28But none of these real
04:30reforms that are needed to fix the system
04:32will work unless we support
04:34our NHS workforce.
04:36Our healthcare workers are
04:38the backbone of our NHS
04:40yet too often they're being overworked
04:42undervalued and forced
04:44to work in unsafe conditions.
04:46The Royal College of Nurses
04:48report makes clear we need more
04:50senior clinical decision makers
04:52on the weekends so patients
04:54can be discharged faster, reducing
04:56delays and we also need
04:58more district nurses and
05:00community care teams
05:02so the patients can be treated
05:04at home instead of taking up hospital
05:06beds unnecessarily.
05:08And we also need to look at our
05:10cottage hospital estate across Wales
05:12because a lot of those patients need
05:14step down care. We've seen far
05:16too many cottage hospitals close
05:18under this Welsh Labour government.
05:20That isn't good enough and we need to look at that
05:22again.
05:24And we need to foster a culture
05:26where the NHS staff feel
05:28safe to raise concerns
05:30without fear of repercussions
05:32because when our nurses and doctors speak
05:34out we must listen
05:36and we must also demand
05:38smarter planning and investment.
05:40There is no excuses for bureaucratic
05:42barriers that prevent patients from
05:44getting the care when they need it.
05:46The NHS in Wales must be able to
05:48safely divert patients to neighbouring services
05:50when necessary.
05:52That will help ease and stop
05:54corridor care and we must
05:56also ensure our NHS is properly
05:58resourced to deliver the six goals
06:00for urgent and emergency care
06:02so that fewer patients end up in corridors
06:04in the first place.
06:06We can fix this
06:08but it will take leadership,
06:10investment and an unshakeable
06:12commitment to patient safety.
06:14And let me also be very clear
06:16I don't believe this is a
06:18funding issue. Over half
06:20of the Welsh government budget is
06:22spent in health. Wales
06:24is part of the sixth largest economy
06:26in the world. There is money
06:28in the system but it's not being
06:30spent in the areas where it matters.
06:32The Labour government here
06:34has chose to waste millions of pounds
06:36on projects that aren't
06:38the priorities of the Welsh people
06:40and they've not monitored
06:42increased funding amounts to the NHS
06:44properly. And as a result
06:46of mismanagement and wrong priorities
06:48what does this mean?
06:50Patients waiting for days in hospital
06:52corridors, ambulance crews stuck
06:54outside our hospitals and nurses
06:56and clinicians pushed beyond breaking
06:58point. And I say to the people of
07:00Wales this. You should not accept
07:02corridor care as normal.
07:04It's not right. It's not
07:06normal. It's not
07:08unavoidable. And it doesn't
07:10have to be this way.
07:12This is a political choice
07:14and it's about political
07:16priorities. And after
07:1825 years of Labour control
07:20corridor care is the reality
07:22of their record in office.
07:24But we can make a difference.
07:26We can make different choices
07:28We can make different choices.
07:30It's time to fix
07:32Wales. It's time to
07:34fix the NHS.
07:36It's time to end corridor care.
07:38That's what we'll be fighting
07:40for. We won't tinker
07:42around the edges like this government has done.
07:44We will take the big decisions
07:46necessary to fix our NHS
07:48because no patient
07:50should ever have to be treated in a corridor
07:52again. And I will tell you
07:54under a Welsh Conservative government
07:56that will never, ever happen.