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NHS Wales chief executive apologises for cancellations NHS Wales chief executive apologises for cancellations
(about 1 hour later)
The chief executive of NHS in Wales has apologised to patients whose routine operations have been postponed due to "exceptional levels of demand" on the service in recent days. Patients whose routine operations have been postponed due to recent "exceptional levels of demand" on the service have received an apology from the chief executive of NHS in Wales.
Dr Andrew Goodall said December was the highest month on record for life-threatening "red calls".Dr Andrew Goodall said December was the highest month on record for life-threatening "red calls".
He added cancellations came as a result of trying to balance those pressures.He added cancellations came as a result of trying to balance those pressures.
On Wednesday, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine Wales said emergency departments felt "like a battlefield."On Wednesday, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine Wales said emergency departments felt "like a battlefield."
Dr Goodall told BBC Wales this winter has been a "very challenging period for the NHS in Wales, there are significant pressures that the NHS is responding to". Dr Goodall said this winter had been a "very challenging period for the NHS in Wales", with the ambulance service seeing a rise of almost 50% in the number of red calls it attended on New Year's Eve.
"The Welsh Ambulance Service Trust has reported that it's had its highest month of red calls, which are its life-threatening calls, in December," he said. The ambulance service said it had responded to 1,800 incidents on New Year's Day alone - 500 more than on a usual busy day.
He added that New Years Eve saw a rise of almost 50% in the number of red calls they had to respond to. "This morning I know that there are 400 patients in our A&E departments across Wales, and around 15% of them are over 85," Dr Goodall said.
"This morning as I'm speaking to you I know that there are 400 patients in our A&E departments across Wales, and around 15% of them are over 85," Dr Goodall said.
"The NHS is responding to a very significant degree of pressure, and we have had winter plans in place to support this."The NHS is responding to a very significant degree of pressure, and we have had winter plans in place to support this.
"It's also very clear that staff have been fantastic on the ground in responding, they are very committed to the NHS and their response to patient care." "It's also very clear that staff have been fantastic on the ground in responding."
"I would want to reassure that there are a range of activities in place ranging from community services to extending hours, focusing on our out of hours services.
"We know that it is always going to be busier. There have been around 400 extra beds in the system."We know that it is always going to be busier. There have been around 400 extra beds in the system.
"It is also important that we are adaptable to these pressures and we make sure we can respond to any increases in activity as they occur across Wales in individual sites." "It is also important that we are adaptable to these pressures and we make sure we can respond to any increases in activity."
Of the cancellations, Dr Goodall said: "Any cancellation is a decision of last resort which is in the interest of trying to balance some of the emergency pressures alongside some of the planned care." On the cancelled operations Dr Goodall said: "Any cancellation is a decision of last resort which is in the interest of trying to balance some of the emergency pressures alongside some of the planned care."
Vanessa Young, director of the Welsh NHS confederation which represents health boards in Wales, said: "It has been particularly bad around the new year period. Health Secretary Vaughan Gething tweeted his agreement with Dr Goodall's comments.
"The Welsh Ambulance Service took 1,000 extra calls on New Year's Day. 'NHS stepped up'
"The growth funding for the NHS has been less than in previous years - so we're starting the year in a more difficult position. Stephen Allen's 82-year-old mother Barbara waited on a hospital trolley for more than four hours until she could be admitted to Cardiff's University Hospital of Wales last week.
"The funding we receive from Welsh Government is very welcome and we're doing what we can to make the most of it." She was taken there by ambulance after feeling unwell following her kidney dialysis and suffering a chest infection.
But despite the lengthy wait, Mr Allen praised the staff.
He said: "They were working in a very intolerable situation where upon we had multiple patients coming in and basically they had nowhere to put them.
"Mum was not very well, she was sleeping thankfully so some of it passed her by... but it wasn't good for her, she was sat on a hard stretcher for a long period of time, which was nobody's fault really, they just had no capacity to be able to put her into a more comfortable position."
He added: "People say it's like a battlefield, well it wasn't like a battlefield, it was really well organised. They knew exactly what they were doing, they knew exactly what to do and they just got on and did it.
"As always, the NHS stepped up when they needed to."
Richard Lee, the Welsh Ambulance Service's director of operations, said there had been "sustained pressure across the whole health system" over the Christmas and new year period.
He said in addition to the extra calls, staff had encountered "significant handover delays at hospitals".
He added: "We are confident of the robustness of our clinical response model in prioritising the sickest patients first.
"However, we recognise that some patients do face longer waits than we would like when system-wide pressures occur, and continue to work with our NHS Wales colleagues and partner agencies to ensure their safety."
'Completely unacceptable''Completely unacceptable'
Vanessa Young, director of the Welsh NHS Confederation which represents health boards, said the growth funding for the NHS this year had been less than in previous years - "so we're starting the year in a more difficult position".
"The funding we receive from Welsh Government is very welcome and we're doing what we can to make the most of it."
She added: "There is a question in society we need to ask about the type of NHS we want as society changes - we can't expect it to respond when we're being asked to do more and more each year with resources that aren't growing at the same pace."She added: "There is a question in society we need to ask about the type of NHS we want as society changes - we can't expect it to respond when we're being asked to do more and more each year with resources that aren't growing at the same pace."
Meanwhile Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood claimed that cuts in the number of hospital beds in Wales had put patient safety at risk, and urged the Welsh Government to take action. Meanwhile, Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood claimed cuts to the number of hospital beds in Wales had put patient safety at risk, and urged the Welsh Government to take action.
She said it was "completely unacceptable" that the target of having no more than 85 percent of beds occupied in general and acute hospital services had not been met since 2011. She said it was "completely unacceptable" the target of having no more than 85% of beds occupied in general and acute hospital services had not been met since 2011.
"Experts say that when occupancy is pushed above this level it poses a risk to patients because it can lead to the spread of disease or viruses," Ms Wood said."Experts say that when occupancy is pushed above this level it poses a risk to patients because it can lead to the spread of disease or viruses," Ms Wood said.
"Labour needs to reverse these cuts for the sake of patient safety."