If the Tories are responsible for the failing NHS, why is the picture no better in Wales under Labour?

[Namechanged2023]

I have never voted Tory, never will. I don’t support anything they stand for.

But I don’t buy this narrative.

The NHS has been rubbish for years. I work in a different public service, that is also rubbish. Too many people talking instead of doing, no performance management, too much leeway with full paid sick leave.

I’ve had mixed experience of the NHS like most. Some excellent staff who want to help and save time, some of the same role who do things completely differently, in a much more time consuming and resource intensive way (think simple tasks like administering antibiotics to a small baby). Some really empathetic, compassionate staff; some the complete opposite. Proactive GPs, and some who refuse to budge.

Their processes are just ridiculous though. I have waited hours to be discharged. Everything has to be done on paper. Letters sent out for everything. Phone lines only open for 2 hours on 3 days a week, so impossible to get through.

At the very minimum if we want European style systems we’ll need to match the per capita funding of them. So privatising would still mean an increase in government funding from what they spend now.

Reintroducing some kind of freedom of movement for healthcare and social care workers would be a start.

Health and Care Visas are some kind of freedom of movement aren’t they?

If you want to come here to work in the NHS you can

@MarshaBradyo "Health and Care Visas are some kind of freedom of movement aren’t they?
If you want to come here to work in the NHS you can"

Correct.
The following (lower/middle skilled )occupations get processing priority for Visa Applications;
Aged/disable carer
Nursing support working
Personal care assistant
In addition the number of people in lower/middle skilled areas were
EU 78,000
Non-EU 1,058,000
UK 8,837,000
Figures 2017 from Migration Observatory (not Migrationwatch - the two are different organisations)
Contrary to some peoples' belief care workers are not classed as 'unskilled'.
The message I have had from Care/Nursing home managers is that while there was mass immigration under Blair they had no shortage attracting unskilled care workers from EU.

However, retention was difficult.
Good managers invested in these people via on-the-job training, NVQs etc only to find that they eventually left after a year or so.
This was due to some going on to train as nurses/HCSW in NHS or

Some went to care homes that offered better wages/conditions.
Some went to work for private care agencies.
All this benefitted other sectors but left a hole in the budget of Care Homes. So they needed to increase fees possibly making themselves non-competitive.
So no simple solution.

This!

There’s a lot of truth in this.

I’d add that the NHS was created to fund simple medical treatments like surgery but now scientific advances mean its funding all sorts of complicated and expensive stuff including sex changes (followed by drugs for life), depression medication, IVF etc. The NHS can’t afford all the stuff its trying to do.

The devolved Labour government in Wales is funded by a 'grant' from central government in Westminster.

From this grant (around £20bn) everything from roads, policing, education, NHS, social care etc is funded, with the Welsh government publishing a budget each year.

The NHS in Wales is underfunded because the grant from central government isn't big enough. Same as every other service all over the UK.