According to the leader of the organization that represents doctors, Wales' NHS is in such disrepair that it can no longer be trusted.
Long wait times, according to BMA Cymru chairwoman Dr. Iona Collins, are having a negative impact on patients' health.
After being referred for hospital care, about 30,000 people in Wales have been waiting for more than two years.
The Welsh government announced that it would spend £1 billion to reduce waiting lists.
Prior to events commemorating the NHS's 75th anniversary, Dr. Collins made these remarks.
When the public was asked what they wanted from the NHS, Dr. Collins responded, "We would like to know what is a predictable level of health care provision that we can expect to have with the NHS.
Can we count on an ambulance to arrive if we suspect we are having a heart attack?
Can that ambulance take us to an accident and emergency for treatment that could save our lives?
We cannot rely on that at this time.
"It will probably be good and satisfactory when you receive the service. The problem is not the delay in receiving the service in the first place, but rather the decline in your health while you wait for your treatment.
"It is simply wrong to have waiting lists, especially ones as long as ours, where individuals are actively degenerating and unable to support the economy while they wait for necessary care. ".
She remarked that the current state "makes no sense.".
As doctors, we are powerless to stop the degradation of our service that we see happening in front of us every day. ".
Stephen Clee from Gilfach Goch near Porth in Rhondda Cynon Taf is one of the patients who is stuck on a waiting list and is compelled to take painkillers while he waits for a hip operation.
He declined his sons' offer to pay £13,000 so that he could go private and be seen in a matter of weeks because he insisted that it goes against everything he stands for.
In response to the question of whether he would consider going private, he replied, "Being sensible, it obviously depends on how bad it is. However, I'll keep doing what I'm doing if it stays the same and is manageable.
"If it reaches the point where I discover it's failing too severely, I might not have any other options, which is a decision I don't like to make but may be required to make. ".
After paying taxes for decades, he claimed he feels scammed by the system and claimed that if he paid privately, he could have the same NHS consultant perform the surgery in about two months.
"If I paid for it, I have now quietly entered the private sector. It is in opposition to why the NHS was created, he said.
Events are scheduled for the anniversary month, but given the strains on the NHS in the wake of Covid and the recent wave of pay strikes, it's more likely that they will center on those issues than on the occasion itself.
The NHS, according to Dr. Collins, should be proud of its ability to produce some of the best medical professionals in the world, but the organization is "wasting that expertise" because "doctors are leaving the UK in droves.".
"Only a few years ago, the NHS was the best health service in the world, the crown jewel. It is [lack of] resources and funding that has knocked us off that pedestal," the speaker said.
"We can get it back, but we need the right funding, the right resources, and the right organization to do it. ".
Since the NHS celebrated its 70th anniversary, a lot has changed for the NHS, according to Prof. Marcus Longley, a health economist and former chairman of the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board.
"I believe the issues are still present, but sadly they are worse than they were five years ago.
"So, during Covid, you witnessed both the best and worst. The worst due to what we are currently witnessing, but the best because it responded to an unprecedented crisis.
"Covid has expelled the shit from the healthcare system.
According to a spokesperson for the Welsh government, "We're investing an extra £1 billion this Senedd term to cut the waiting list backlog caused by Covid and have seen the number of two-year waits half in the past year.". .
"We funded a well-deserved pay increase for our NHS employees, and we are boosting our training budget for new NHS employees every year.
We are also investing in innovation, more community beds, and fresh services like 111 and urgent primary care clinics to make sure the NHS in Wales can handle the rising demand.
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