Whilst we know that the NHS system throughout the entirety of the UK is currently fighting one heck of a battle amid growing austerity cuts and understaffing, NHS Wales has been a focal point in recent news following a series of situations they have been facing.
News from the BBC confirms that NHS Wales missed its accident and emergency waiting time target by a considerable margin amid separate recent claims that they are at “crisis point.”
The national target is said to be 95% to be treated within the first four hours yet NHS Wales only managed to attain a figure of 82.3% according to the report. The number of people who had to wait more than 12 hours was also said to have increased by several hundred from the previous month.
The report also goes on to confirm that there was a rise of 169 patients per day in March when compared to February. Morriston Hospital in Swansea was confirmed to be the worst performer where just 60.3% of people were seen within four hours. Wrexham Hospital was only able to achieve 8% more at 68.3%.
Criticism has come from all sides with the blame being thrown at poor funding management from the Welsh government. The reality of the situation though is that measures need to be taken to identify the issues and take the necessary steps to resolve them. The poor performers often see the largest number of claims for personal injury when things go wrong and innocent people become the victim of negligence.
As usual the NHS is a focal point for the upcoming general election and we can only hope that whichever political party gets in to power will keep their promises for funding to avoid what some people believe is the inevitable collapse of our fantastic health service system. On the whole we can all be appreciative of the hard work the staff put in and we know that we as a country are lucky to have a public health service system like ours.
But when things go wrong people are entitled to justice. Sadly the reality of the situation is that the majority of medical negligence claims are often serious when it comes to the suffering and losses that have been caused. Funding is put aside for claims but only by improving standards and properly managing and funding the NHS as a whole will we see higher standards and thus fewer claims.
If you are the victim of negligence, of which a failure to quickly diagnose or treat a condition is a common scenario, then you are entitled to claim. An A+E delay can result in a condition worsening and it’s important for you to know your rights as a victim – especially if the condition becomes a lot more complex.
For free advice call our claims helpline on 0800 634 7575 today.
