THE staffing shortages across hospitals in Wales have been labelled as 'disgraceful', with North Wales continuing to struggle. 

Figures uncovered by the Welsh Conservatives have revealed the crisis at the heart of Welsh A&E departments as every single one failed to meet safe staffing levels.

According to Freedom of Information requests made to Wales’ health boards, all its major hospitals are falling well short of the recommended ‘baseline’ for staffing levels in emergency departments, as per the first week in September.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) sets a ‘baseline’ for the number of WTE (working-time equivalent) consultants which should be employed in the department to guarantee safe cover.

READ MORE: 

At present no hospital is close to meeting this baseline in Wales.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said staff illness and Covid-related absences have had a "significant impact on staffing levels" but it ensures health boards have sufficient numbers of staff in their emergency departments to deliver safe care.

Welsh Conservative Shadow Health Minister Russell George MS said: “It’s really concerning that as we approach winter, we still have seriously understaffed A&E departments to the detriment of patient safety and staff well-being.

“That not a single hospital across Wales is meeting the recommended baseline of medical professionals is disgraceful, and the lack of some to fund that minimum level shows something deeply wrong within the Labour-run NHS.

“It is no surprise that this was the month that saw the worst ambulance response times on record given that fewer doctors in A&E means patients are seen less quickly, forcing ambulances to wait in loading areas because they cannot hand over patients promptly.

“It is why Wales has the worst A&E waits in Britain. It is why we need winter war rooms that are 24/7 data-driven control centres to provide accurate information on bed capacity in hospitals and care homes, run by “clinicians and experts” who can identify pressure points and act to reduce deadly ambulance delays and lengthy waits in A&E.”

The most understaffed A&E unit was Aberystwyth’s Bronglais Hospital, with only 13% of consultants available.

Across North Wales, Ysbyty Glan Clwyd near Rhyl had 32%, the Maelor Hospital had 38% and Ysbyty Gwynedd had 66%. 

Some responses yielded more information: funding for A&E consultants in all three of North Wales’ Betsi Cadwaladr health board fell short of the baseline.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Staff illness and Covid-related absences have had a significant impact on staffing levels, but we are committed to ensuring health boards across Wales have sufficient numbers of staff in their emergency departments to deliver safe care for people in their communities.

“There are more staff working in NHS Wales than ever before and this year we are investing record levels in training and professional education, £262m, including more training places than ever before.

“We are supporting the NHS to improve emergency care services – including increasing staffing in crucial areas to help people access services as close to home as possible and reduce patient activity in Emergency Departments.”

Betsi Cadwaladr did not want to comment on the matter.