First Minister denounced for cynically pledging to end a drug “postcode lottery” of his own making

Carwyn Jones lambasted over inability to make basic commitments on health, education and economy

The Welsh Conservative leader has criticised the First Minister for cynically committing to end a major problem of his own party’s making: ending the “postcode lottery” on drug and treatment access.

The statement features as one of the central pledges in his five-year programme for government, published today by the Welsh Government and entitled ‘Taking Wales Forward 2016-20121’.

During today’s Programme for Government Statement, held in the Welsh Assembly Chamber, Andrew RT Davies challenged Carwyn Jones on the brevity of the document, and pointed out the irony that the Welsh Government had chosen the phrase “postcode lottery” – a situation he said was, after all, the product of a Labour-run NHS.

Welsh Labour’s pledge in full, reads as follows: ‘Introduce a New Treatment Fund to give people in Wales fast access to new and innovative treatments and work to end the postcode lottery for drugs and treatments not routinely available on the NHS.’

Since the dawn of devolution, cancer patients in Wales have been failed by the Welsh Labour Government because of a limited access to potentially life-saving cancer drugs.

This is largely down to the Welsh Government’s implementation of a confusing system whereby Welsh cancer patients could access drugs available in England, under circumstances of “clinical exceptionality”.

The policy of “clinical exceptionality” has been inconsistently interpreted by health boards, which has meant that many Welsh patients could not access drugs which are available just across the border.

Welsh Conservatives have long called for the introduction of a £100m cancer drugs fund to meet demand, though this has consistently been ignored by the Welsh Government.
Data published by ONS on Monday indicated that English cancer patients still have a better cancer survival rate than their Welsh equivalents.  

In March 2014, independent research by Bristol University concluded that patients in England are seven times more likely to access modern cancer drugs.

The First Minister was also taken to task over his refusal to commit to raising educational standards above those of Vietnam – behind which Wales currently trails – and would not make any promises on making Wales more prosperous than Bulgaria or Romania.

Speaking outside the Assembly chamber, Andrew RT Davies said:

“It is an affront to the Welsh public that the First Minister cannot make basic commitments on issues that most affect our lives.

“Our education system, our health service, our economy still trail behind the rest of the UK, but you’d never know it from the cynical platitudes emanating from the First Minister.

“That his programme for government document runs to just 15 pages – including the cover – betrays the fact that he and his Cabinet colleagues have been purposefully vague, not wanting to pin themselves down to targets which they cannot meet.

“I sincerely hope, however, that the Labour-led Welsh Government does achieve every single one of its promises, because if it does not it will be the communities of Wales who are left with the consequences.”