Former Labour First Minister, now Finance Minister, Mark Drakeford has said that Wales was “over hospitalised”, just as the latest NHS statistics for Wales revealed an increase in the NHS treatment waiting list to 802,268 pathways, the highest figure on record, for the tenth month in a row.

Drakeford said on a podcast: “If you're asking me, if I had a blank sheet of paper and could just do the things I think needed to be done, we would have fewer hospitals in Wales. We have too many hospitals and too many beds.”

The latest health statistics for Wales also revealed another increase in waits of two years or more and yet another worsening of the figures for emergency department waits.

Responding to Mark Drakeford’s comments, Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Darren Millar MS said:

“Mark Drakeford’s comments are completely out of touch with reality.

“Under Labour, the NHS in Wales is in crisis and much of this is a result of hospital closures and beds being axed.

“New hospitals and beds have been promised to alleviate pressures but haven't been built, and we now know why. The former First Minister, who now holds the purse strings as Labour's Finance Minister, is a block on their delivery.

“Our NHS is broken, this is a matter of life or death. Labour must be turfed out of office as soon as possible so that the Welsh Conservatives can fix Wales.”

Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, James Evans MS added:

“Mark Drakeford’s claim that Wales has “too many hospitals and too many beds” highlights Labour’s disconnect after 26 years in power.

“Our NHS is bogged down by excessive bureaucracy and bloated management.

“It’s time for fundamental reform to prioritise patient care and fix our NHS.”