Former mayor complains to Minister about 'horrendous problems" with NHS

* Waiting list complaints: former town mayor and county councillor Stuart Davies.

A former Llangollen mayor has written to the Health Minister and both candidates in the race to become Wales’s new First Minister outlining the “horrendous problem” he faces in attempting to access NHS services in a timely manner. 

Stuart Davies, who is also a former county councillor for the area, tells Minister Eluned Morgan and leadership contenders Vaughan Gething and Jeremy Miles that he has had a 22-week wait for an echo cardiogram, a five-month wait for a hearing test and cancelled prostate cancer consultations. 

And he points out: “I write to you not as a patient attempting to get treatment just for me but as someone trying to get equitable treatment for all.” 

Mr Davies goes on to detail his problems with NHS waits:

* Problem One: During an examination the local GP practice picked up a shortage of breath, which is a problem as he suffers from paroxysmal atrial fibrillation The details were passed along the health service chain. This resulted in another examination but an eventual 22-week wait for further investigation and scan.

While on holiday in Portugal he sought help from a private clinic and eventually paid to have the scan, which was arranged within a few days. This reassured him he didn’t have heart failure and that the shortage of breath was due to his existing condition.

* Problem Two: Describing a problem with a hearing test, he says: “I am pretty deaf, almost totally in my left ear. I had a hearing aid fitted years ago. The tube went bad a while back. I phoned up to try and get a new one.

“I was told it was obsolete but to come in for a hearing test and a new one. I was also told there was a five-month waiting list.”

Problem Three: He says: “This morning the post arrived. I suffer from long term prostate cancer. I have six month check-ups by phone along with a PSA test. My upcoming consultation has been cancelled. It’s not the first time."

And he tells the Minister and the leadership candidates: "We are facing horrendous problems here in attempting to access Welsh NHS services in a timely manner.

“What is going on with the Welsh NHS and the Betsi Cadwalader University Health Board?

“The system is broken, the word on the street is that the Welsh NHS is broken. What are you going to do to address these issues please?”