THE British Medical Association (BMA) Cymru Wales has written to Wales' health minister urging a radical shake-up of the Welsh health and care system.

The association has released a copy of the letter, which was sent earlier this month, and is demanding an urgent intervention from health minister Eluned Morgan following a rapid deterioration of the service in recent weeks.

Dr Phil White, chairman of the BMA’s Welsh GP Committee said: “The situation has escalated to a point where the Welsh Ambulance Service is having to refuse to attend emergency requests.

“It is astonishing that we’ve reached this point. After repeatedly raising concerns over the last few years that the situation was worsening, we are sadly seeing our fears borne out. If action is not taken immediately to resolve this situation then patients will die, there’s no doubt about it.”

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Dr White said a growing number of GPs across Wales are reporting that patients who present with life-threatening emergencies in surgeries are requiring alternative urgent transport to hospital in taxis or via lifts from family or friends.

He said: “The situation is the worst it’s ever been, but the reality is that management of patient flow in Wales has not been fit for purpose for years, and our warnings have fallen on deaf ears.”

The letter, co-signed by BMA Cymru Wales Committee Chairs and Local Medical Committee Chairs, notes the problems are deep-rooted and include ‘the inability to manage the flow of patients through the whole health and care system.’

Dr Phil Banfield, chairman of the BMA’s Welsh Consultant Committee said: “A clear driver of such a delay is the fact that bed capacity within the NHS in Wales has reduced dramatically over the last decade.

“Having significantly fewer hospital beds is undoubtedly contributing to patients becoming backed up within emergency departments where they may be waiting for admission to other hospital wards.

“Then we have the patients who are sitting in hospital beds waiting to be discharged but have no onwards care in place.

“It is putting an intolerable strain on staff and causing a great deal of distress and confusion to patients.

“This crisis has exposed a fundamental lack of joined up thinking across the Welsh NHS.”

A Welsh Government spokesperson, said: “There continues to be intense pressure on all health and care services in Wales as the service continues to deal with the impact of the pandemic. 

"We are providing significant funding to help the NHS recover from the pandemic, including £240 million as part of our covid recovery plan.

"We have also allocated a further £48 million to help the social care sector in Wales meet the ongoing challenges caused by the pandemic.

"Work is already underway to redefine the way urgent care is delivered supporting general practice, WAST and A&E by providing urgent care closer to home.

"The minister continues to work with the BMA and other relevant parties to ensure our NHS overcomes the challenges it faces.”