Welsh health boards failing Welsh speaking patients

A newly published report has revealed that two Welsh health boards with the highest concentration of Welsh speaking users are performing worst for their delivery of Welsh language services.

Hywel Dda and Betsi Cadwaladr health boards are made up of 36.7% and 30.8% health service users, respectively – this compared to a national average of 19%.

But Government data on ‘workforce and the Welsh language to support primary care planning’ shows that the number of staff members able to service the boards’ language needs is severely lacking.

Betsi Cadwaladr and Hywel Dda each have just six Welsh-speaking GPs for every 10,000 Welsh speaking service users.

Hywel Dda has the highest percentage of Welsh speaking service users registered as having “bad or very bad health” at 28.7%, which is comparable to Betsi Cadwaladr who have 21.1% service users meeting the same criteria – this against a national average of 10.8%.

The same two health boards also score highest among the seven health boards for Welsh speakers with a long-term illness which inhibit daily activities “a lot”.

“It is concerning that the health boards with the greatest demand for Welsh language healthcare delivery are the least equipped to offer this,” said Suzy Davies AM, Welsh Conservative Shadow spokesperson for Social Services, Older People and the Welsh Language.

“An inquiry by the Welsh Language Commissioner makes clear that 90% of Welsh speakers, when asked, agreed that wherever they live in Wales, Welsh speakers should have the right to express themselves in Welsh when dealing with the health service.

“Indeed, the Welsh Government’s own Welsh language strategy makes clear that there is a duty on the NHS to offer patients a service through the medium of Welsh, and yet only 3-4% of patients receive such an offer.

“There is a clear failure here by the government to recruit adequate numbers of Welsh speakers to rural health boards, which is not only a cultural issue but a health one, too.

“It’s vital that patients feel able to articulate their health concerns in the language of their choosing, otherwise confidence in healthcare delivery will be lost – particularly in primary care – which could lead to increased pressures on our hospitals, which are already under strain.

“The current picture does not bode well for the introduction of Welsh language standards in the near future, and health boards must now prepare for their implementation to mitigate against the risk of any sudden demands they might impose on their resources.

“I call on the Cabinet Minister to make plain what strategy he has in place to ensure that patients can feel confident speaking in their native tongue when seeking treatment or support from the health service which they help fund.”