WREXHAM Maelor A&E waiting figures are the worst in Wales according to Stats Wales.

The local medical facility’s department was the only one in Wales where a majority of patients waited more than four hours for treatment.

According to the latest statistics, 51% of patients attending Wrexham waited more than four hours. The next worst waiting time was in Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, where 45% waited more than four hours.

Llyr Gruffydd, Plaid Cymru AM for North Wales, said: “The long-term situation in Wrexham and Glan Clwyd’s A&E departments is dire.

“Staff are under huge pressures and clearly more support is needed. I look forward to hearing how the new chair of Betsi Cadwaladr intends to address this long-standing problem and have asked for an urgent meeting.”

Responding to the recent statistics on A&E in Wales, Shadow Minister for Health and Social Services, Helen Mary Jones AM said:

“These A&E figures are the worst January performance we have had in several years, with over a quarter of patients in major A-E units waiting more than the target time, and a staggering 5,292 patients waiting longer than 12 hours.

“The Health Minister can hardly claim things are going well as he did in a recent statement to the chamber.

“This level of poor performance simply does not happen in Scotland.

“These figures are completely unacceptable and demonstrate a serious lack of competence on the Welsh Government’s part.

“Winter happens every year – along with seasonal bugs and flus, and it can all be prepared and planned for.

“The real issue here is a lack of planning and taking adequate preventative measures to deal with the winter months.

“We need a real out of hours GP service, social care that works to care for people over winter, more community beds, and a clear plan to ensure hospital bed occupancy stays as safe levels so surges can be dealt with.

“These are all achievable and effective steps that would dramatically improve A&E figures.

A spokesperson for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board told The Leader: “We saw a significant increase in demand compared to January last year, with 675 more people attending our three Emergency Departments.

“Other challenges included an increase of ten per cent in acutely unwell patients in our most serious triage category and the impact of more cases of flu.

“Despite this, there were improvements in some areas of our emergency care performance including a 56 per cent reduction in ambulance handover delays outside our hospitals, and fewer delays for people who are ready to go home from hospital.

“We are working with partners to co-ordinate action across all parts of the system including community services, hospitals, voluntary sector, social care and the ambulance service.

“We know there is still more to do, and we are determined to make further progress. We would like to thank our staff for their continued hard work and dedication.”