Jeremy Kent, the Conservative Welsh Parliament Candidate for Wrexham, today welcomed the offer of support to Welsh Government from UK Government to accept non-Covid patients from Welsh hospitals.
UK Health Secretary, Matt Hancock and Secretary of State for Wales, Simon Hart wrote to Mark Drakeford, the Welsh First Minister on Tuesday, offering the support to the Welsh NHS, which has seen a large increase in admissions over recent weeks.
In the letter it states that all nations should be working together to overcome the virus. A virus that does not respect borders or political boundaries, but follows the human geographies that people follow, especially those living on the Welsh / English Border.
The letter follows consideration from some Welsh health boards to cancel or postpone non-Covid treatments and appointments, to deal with the immediate threat of the pandemic.
The UK Government also reaffirmed its support to mass testing programmes.
Jeremy stated, “This is welcome support from the UK Government to the Welsh Government in the fight against Coronavirus. In recent weeks we have seen Wales’ infection rates rising and the pressure on the NHS here in Wales increasing. This offer of support shows the benefit of being a part of a United Kingdom in fighting the virus.”
“We must appreciate all our hard working NHS frontline staff who continue to do so much to keep us safe though this public health crisis”, Jeremy added.
Welsh Conservatives have been calling on the Welsh Government to detail how they will deal with the hospital waiting lists which doubled in 2019 alone, before the virus only further impacted this and shone a light on the issues. Labour have been responsible for the Welsh NHS for over 20 years.
The First Minister has yet to respond to the letter of support.
