By stewartb

On the theme of the British Labour Party’s track record in government with devolved powers.

NHS Wales’ performance shows that Labour governing with devolved powers – even after c. 12 months with Labour in power in Westminster and c.26 years in power in Cardiff – does NOT have the solution to long A&E waiting times.

As we approach the election to the Holyrood parliament in 2026, voters in Scotland should take careful note – unless of course the leadership of the British Labour Party in Scotland is keeping a game changing wheeze for the salvation of Scotland EDs a closely guarded secret – even from Labour ministers in Cardiff! Has Labour fanzine, the Daily Record been sworn to secrecy?

On July 25, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) issued this press release: ‘Summer provides no respite as Welsh EDs experience worst month on record for four hour waits.’ (ED = emergency department)

It reports ‘The latest performance data released yesterday (24 July 2025) reveals almost 1 in 2 patients (31,701) waited four hours or longer to be admitted, transferred or discharged from major EDs in June. That’s despite a lower number of attendances compared to the previous month.

‘In Wales, the target is that 95% of patients should be seen, discharged, or admitted within four hours. Last month, it was 53.2%. (my emphasis)

‘The figures, released by the Welsh Government, also revealed nearly one in four patients (16,622) waited eight hours or longer.‘ So c.25% spending over 8 hours.

‘Meanwhile, almost one in six patients (10,124) endured a wait of 12 hours or more. That’s 15% of attendances – the same percentage when compared to May and 3.5 times higher than the same month in 2018 (6,239).’

RCEM Vice President for Wales is quoted: “People are lining our corridors, on trolleys, watching the clock tick by, often waiting for an elusive in-patient bed to become available. And while four-hour waits are inconvenient, we know extreme waits are undignified and dangerous for our patients.

“These figures should sound alarm for the Welsh government. Increasing capacity and flow throughout our hospitals needs to be at the top of their agenda. If this is where we are in summer – I am concerned about what we will be facing this winter.”

Meanwhile, the performance figures for equivalent emergency departments in Scotland for May (from Public Health Scotland):

67.1% of attendances met the 4 hour standard. Recall – for Wales in June it was 53.2%!

12,672 out of 125,779 attendances spent over 8 hours I.e. 10.1%. Recall – for Wales in June it was 25%!

4,863 out of 125,779 attendances spent over 12 hours I.e 3.9%. Recall – for Wales in June it was 15%!

These are huge differences! Public Health Scotland reports that the average waits performance of NHS Scotland’s Type 1 emergency departments across 2024 was as follows: on the 4 hour standard, 64.7% weekly average; 12.5% of attendances spending more than 8 hours; 5.6% spending over 12 hours.

So yes a gradual improvement it seems, but still much room for improvement in NHS Scotland. However, there is no indication from these comparisons with Wales that British Labour Party politicians have a track record in being able to effect substantial improvement. Far from it: NHS Scotland performs better by far than its Welsh counterpart on these key metrics – and has for a long time!

To avoid any misunderstanding, my aim here is not to have a pop at the NHS in Wales, not even at the Welsh government: Wales suffers from many of the problems caused by the devolution settlement and many years of Westminster imposed austerity just like Scotland. No, the purpose is to expose the British Labour Party politicians and their media allies in Scotland who seek to deceive voters here into believing that Labour – and only Labour – have the solutions that Scotland needs and wants. Based on Labour’s track record in Wales, such a position reeks of hypocrisy!