Is the issue of NHS funding undermining the whole structure of devolved Goverment ?

 With the NHS in Wales beingt he  major issue in next years Ass,bly elections s it not time political parties started to look for some form of comsensus rather than enter into some form of auction before every election


Plaid Cymru have pledged to “ring-fence” £590m for health services should they win power at the next election 

Health spokeswoman Elin Jones AM says setting aside hundreds of millions of pounds for the Welsh NHS shows the party’s commitment to improving public services across the country.


She claims the Welsh NHS has declined dramatically under the current Labour Welsh Government due to longer waiting times for treatment and “declining standards”.

The party says the £590m figure represents what Wales will be allocated from the additional £8bn, in real terms, pledged to the NHS in England by the current UK Government.


Speaking in Aberystwyth as part of Plaid’s roadshow around Wales, Elin Jones AM said:

 “After years of managed decline under this tired and complacent Labour Government, the Welsh NHS is crying out for extra funding to improve standards for staff and patients.
“Labour’s decision not to ring-fence health spending in Wales has resulted in longer waiting times and declining standards.
“By ring-fencing this money, we would be able to prioritise training and recruiting a 1,000 extra doctors in Wales, protecting local services, and integrating health and social care so care for our elderly and vulnerable is planned seamlessly and with dignity.
“In our last budget deal with the Welsh Government we prioritised spending on breaking down the barriers and integrating health and social care. We continue to believe that this needs to be a priority.”

A spokesman for Health Minister Mark Drakeford said the Welsh Government has a proven track record of investment in the NHS.

He said: 

“This is fantasy politics from Plaid Cymru and they’re spending money that does not exist.
“There is no indication of if, or when this £590m could come to Wales. We won’t know anything until the Comprehensive Spending Review is published in November."

I hate to say it but he has a point but I bet  Labour wil be coming out with an increased spending Plan (which of course they claim will be fully costed )before the election.

and what does La Passionaria leader of the Welsh Lib Dems say over at Subordinate Central  she write

Plaid Cymru have announced today that they would ringfence Barnett consequentials from additional health spending in England. They are playing catch-up. After all the Welsh Liberal Democrats’ plan to invest the money in the NHS was revealed before the General Election.
The Welsh Lib Dems plan to use the money to help fund their 3 point plan for the NHS: more nurses on hospital wards, investing in mental health services and improving access to GPs.
Plaid are late to the party on committing more money to our NHS. Since way before the General Election, Welsh Liberal Democrats have been calling for this money to be put into revitalising mental health services and getting more nurses on our hospital wards

The Tories who successfully used the state of the NHS in Wales in the last General Election to gain two Welsh seats despite it not being a Westminster issue said

 "The consequential would be 5.79% of the £8bn spend in England - around £463m. Plaid’s economy team are £127m out.
“It’s a little late in the day to hear these promises from Plaid Cymru.
“They’ve had every opportunity to back Welsh Conservative calls to protect the health budget in Wales. Instead, they’ve helped vote through successive Labour budgets which have devastated the Welsh NHS.
 .

Is this going to be the major battle ground  in May . 

Don't get me wrong the NHS is an important issue and I should know as I'm currently seeing doctors at three different hospitals for three separate conditions 

But there are other issues and with Bevan Foundation suggesting more unqualified workers chasing low paid, insecure jobs is the bleak vision of Wales in 2020, 

If forecasts are correct, the gap in productivity between Wales and the UK will widen,Is it not time Parties in the Assembly considered how best Wales can go forward to prevent this forecast proving true.

It would be a tragedy if the NHS becomes the only issue next may . Indeed the best way to improve the NHS may not be by simply increasing funding but by defeating poverty which the JJoseph Rowntree Foundation have pointed out  1 in 4 of our people are living in