Reeves vows to 'fix broken NHS’ - just don’t look at Labour-run Wales where 1 in 4 are on waiting lists

Voters have been quick to highlight the dire situation in Wales where Labour has run the NHS since 1999 and now presides over the worst waiting list statistics in Britain.

In Wales, 21 per cent of people on waiting lists wait over a year for treatment, compared to four per cent in England, while the average time spent waiting for hospital treatment after referral is 21.8 weeks compared to 14.9 in England.

Sam Rowlands MS, Welsh Conservative Shadow Health Minister, said: “Labour has fundamentally mismanaged the Welsh NHS since the dawn of devolution.

“They have failed to get to grips with long waiting times which remain the longest in the whole UK after seven consecutive record-breaking months, with one in four Welsh people now waiting for treatment.

“Despite receiving a £1.20 uplift from the UK Government for every £1 spent per head in England, the Labour Welsh Government has consistently failed to pass on that full amount, depriving the NHS of much-needed cash.”

Labour’s repeated claims the NHS in England is “broken” have prompted many Welsh residents to wonder what to call the state of their NHS which, in many measures, is even worse.

Welsh resident Dylan Jenkins said: “On the contrary to what Rachel Reeves said this morning, Labour will be remembered as the government that led the NHS to its worst crisis in history in Wales.”

The Chancellor’s repeated claims the Tories broke the NHS are widely seen as necessary to prepare the country for tax rises in tomorrow’s budget.

Helen Fawcett, from Monmouthshire, added: “The NHS in Wales under Labour is abysmal.

“Not only are our waiting lists longer, we have dreadful ambulance waiting times. My mum waited 13 hours for an ambulance following a fall with a broken hip.

“Mid Wales ambulance teams are often sent to Swansea leaving no ambulance personnel in Powys which, considering its size, is a nightmare.”

GB News put these concerns to the Welsh Government who said: “The NHS deals with more than 2 million contacts with people every month in Wales, an incredible level of demand for a country of 3.1m people.

“Like the NHS across the UK, the health service is under pressure but it provides life-saving and life-changing care every day.

“Our number one priority is to reduce waiting times for treatment. We have cut long waiting times by more than 65 per cent since their peak in 2022 and just announced an extra £28m to cut the longest waits. But we know there is more work to do.

“We are in the process of developing the Draft Budget 2025-26 against the backdrop of a challenging financial situation. It will be published on 10 December.”

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This row comes after the Welsh NHS recently came under fire for recruiting an ‘Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Champion’ on an eyewatering £105,504 - £139,882 per annum pro rata.

The Champion, funded by Welsh taxpayers, will be required to work ‘four sessions per week’, but it is unclear how many hours this entails.

That money could cover the salary of five new nurses, assuming the Champion started at the upper end of the advertised scale.

Reform MP Rupert Lowe took aim at the job on X today stating: “I've asked the Department of Health how many of these nonsense roles exist in the NHS, and at what cost.

“Their response? They don't hold the data, which is concerning in itself.

“My view? Scrap every single 'diversity' role.”

Before entering office, Keir Starmer claimed Wales was his 'blueprint' for government. He has since refused to repeat the claim.