Did Health Secretary mislead Senedd on Powys waiting times?

Montgomeryshire’s Member of the Senedd has challenged inaccurate claims on NHS waiting times, and has asked the First Minister to Intervene.

Russell George MS has accused the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care of misleading the Senedd over NHS waiting times in Powys and has written to the First Minister requesting that the record be corrected.

During an oral statement to the Senedd, the Cabinet Secretary, Jeremy Miles MS, said that “in Swansea and in Powys, no one is waiting more than two years for treatment or more than a year for an outpatient appointment”.

Speaking in the Senedd yesterday, Mr George said that the statement was inaccurate and failed to reflect the reality faced by Powys residents who are waiting for treatment, often outside of the county.

Powys has no district general hospital, with most secondary care for residents delivered in other parts of Wales or England. Figures from Powys Teaching Health Board themselves show that hundreds of Powys residents are waiting longer than one year for a first outpatient appointment and longer than two years for treatment.

Commenting after proceedings, Mr George said: “It is deeply concerning that the Cabinet Secretary for Health stood up in the Senedd and repeated a claim that is not true - that no one in Powys is waiting longer than a year for an outpatient appointment or more than two years for treatment.

“This is not the first time that the Minister has made this sweeping claim about Powys NHS waiting times – which are wrong and misleading. It raises serious questions about whether the Welsh Government properly understands how healthcare is actually delivered in Powys.

“We do not have a district general hospital, and most Powys patients are treated in hospitals outside of the county. For patients who are waiting – the Welsh Government cannot simply pretend they do not exist.

“Patients deserve honesty, not headline-friendly statistics that fall apart under scrutiny. When Ministers get the facts wrong, they must correct the record quickly and transparently.

“Long waits have a real human cost. Behind every statistic is a patient who has often been left waiting in pain. The Welsh Government must stop repeating inaccurate claims and start taking responsibility for the reality faced by Powys residents.”

Under the Ministerial Code, if a Minister makes an error inadvertently, they are expected to correct the record promptly. If it is found that a Minister knowingly misleads the Senedd, enforcement of the Ministerial Code rests with the First Minister.

Mr George has written to the First Minister asking her to intervene and has asked that the First minister clarify her assessment on whether the Cabinet Secretary has broken the Ministerial code. He has further requested that the Cabinet Secretary is asked to clarify and correct the record at the earliest opportunity.