£1 billion of NHS funds “not spent properly”

Commenting on today’s claims by NHS Wales finance directors that £1bn of the annual health budget is not being spent properly, Opposition Assembly leader Nick Bourne AM said:

“This is an astonishing admission of waste and an indication of how the Labour-Plaid Assembly Government’s centralised control culture has undermined the work and efficiency of NHS Wales.

“We are not talking about a small amount of money. We are talking about significant sums which if spent properly could have made a material difference to the delivery of frontline patient care.

“The Labour Health Minister has some very serious questions to answer – and she must answer them now, not via some long, drawn-out consultation or taskforce.

“This affects the lives of every single person in Wales who is either currently using the NHS or has had cause to do so over the last decade.

“At a time of budget cuts people will expect significant changes to be made to ensure not a single penny of NHS expenditure is wasted.”