Healthcare Services 2023-05-24
2023-05-24
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
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Context
Discussions on the adequacy of healthcare services in Wales have been raised due to ongoing issues with patient wait times.
What discussions has he had with the Welsh Government regarding the adequacy of healthcare services in Wales, given that over 31,000 people are waiting more than two years for treatment?
Healthcare services are devolved to the Welsh Labour Government. However, it is deeply worrying that only last week the Welsh Government revealed their target for people waiting more than two years for treatment has once again been missed, with over 31,000 people waiting in pain over two years for their treatment. In England, which has virtually 20 times the population, the equivalent figure is virtually zero.
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Assessment & feedback
The answerer did not provide details on any discussions with the Welsh Government but instead highlighted a discrepancy between healthcare wait times in Wales and England.
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
The need for comparable data to improve healthcare systems has been highlighted as a challenge due to differing metrics used by different legislators.
Given the importance of comparing data for improving healthcare systems, will the UK Government commit to an agreement between the devolved nations to share the same data so that adequate comparisons can be made?
My hon. Friend makes a very good point: we do need comparable data so that we can see exactly what is going wrong in the health service in Wales. From the data that we have, we already know about the 31,000 people who have been waiting more than two years in pain for treatment. We also know that the Welsh Government have a copy of the EY report into what has gone wrong in the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board—a report that they are sitting on and trying to hold secret because it points out that over £100 million was misspent by the health board under a Welsh Labour Government.
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Assessment & feedback
The answerer did not commit to an agreement for comparable data but instead criticized the Welsh Government's handling of reports and data.
Response accuracy