08-05-2025
- Health
- Pembrokeshire Herald
Former Withybush director flays Welsh Government over ambulance delay
Retired doctor calls for emergency response to 'failing' NHS
A FORMER Director of Withybush Hospital has launched a scathing attack on the Welsh Government after his ninety-year-old mother-in-law was left waiting seventeen hours for an ambulance.
Dr Iain Robertson-Steele, who lives in Solva, told BBC Radio Wales's Breakfast programme this week that he had 'never seen the Welsh NHS in such a poor state.' He also criticised First Minister Eluned Morgan and the wider handling of health and social care by ministers in Cardiff Bay.
Dr Robertson-Steele explained that after his mother-in-law suffered a fall, 999 was called – but the ambulance did not arrive until 2:00am.
'She was found on the floor,' he said. 'An ambulance arrived seventeen hours later at 2:00 in the morning, and, at 2:30am, she was taken to Withybush Hospital.'
Baroness Morgan admitted the delay was 'unacceptable' and said the government was working to improve the system and address 'blockages' in the care pathway.
But Dr Robertson-Steele said the situation required far more than promises.
'As a retired doctor, I've become increasingly aware of growing ambulance response delays — we're talking about heart attacks, broken necks, and femurs,' he said. 'It's completely unacceptable for critically injured or ill patients to remain at home for such long periods. They become cold, hypoglycaemic, and develop skin damage. All of these increase the risk of poor outcomes.'
He was clear that frontline staff are not to blame.
'This isn't the fault of nurses, paramedics, doctors or hospital staff. It's a system that's inadequate, badly organised and clogged up. The Welsh Government has been in power for twenty-five years. Eluned Morgan can't just say she's 'working on it'.'
Dr Robertson-Steele called for immediate action: 'The government has failed to deliver, failed to organise, and the NHS is frankly on the point of failure. That is bad for patients, bad for staff, and bad for the country.
'That is why I'm calling on the government to organise an emergency response to address the current crisis. And let's be clear — it is a crisis.'
In response to Baroness Morgan's claim that delays in operations were due to her not being 'in every theatre,' he said: 'Delays in theatre are often because there are no beds for patients or there's a lack of staff. So it's a bad example for her to give.
'The real problem is delayed discharges. Patients are stuck in hospital waiting for social care packages to go home. Bed numbers have dropped over the years. The population has aged. The demands of the elderly are much higher than those of younger people.'
He warned that superficial fixes would not solve the crisis.
'We've had the Bevan Commission. We've had report after report. We all know the answer is solving social care and elderly care.
'As the Senedd election nears, politicians will roll out magical solutions. But none of it will work unless we deliver, pay and organise staff properly — and most importantly, train enough doctors and nurses.'
Turning to workforce issues, he added: 'We've seen the cut in nursing places at Cardiff University. We train doctors in Wales but don't retain them. We don't train enough, and we don't pay them well enough to keep them here. Many leave for Australia or New Zealand.'
Dr Robertson-Steele concluded: 'It's naive of the government — and very naive of Eluned Morgan, the former Health Minister — to suggest this is just about poor organisation or management. The crisis is systemic, and the responsibility lies squarely with those in power.'
