First Minister accused of failing to deliver on modernising Welsh NHS

Wales’ First Minister has been accused of allowing “a digital divide” to develop between Wales and England after patients across the border were promised full access to their health records via an NHS app.

The UK Government announced earlier this week that new laws are set to be introduced to make patient records available across all NHS hospitals, GP surgeries and ambulance services in England.

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NHS app

And plans for a “single patient record” have been unveiled, which will summarise all of a patient’s health information, test results and letters in the NHS App, the Department of Health and Social Care confirmed.

Plaid Cymru’s Health spokesperson Mabon ap Gwynfor recently announced that a Plaid Cymru Government would grant patients access to digital health records.

Following the announcement he criticised Eluned Morgan’s ‘modernise the NHS’ placard she displayed during the General Election campaign, saying it was a sign of “electioneering before meaningful action.”

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Digital divide

He said: “Accelerating the pace of moving the Welsh NHS from the analogue to digital age will benefit clinicians and patients alike, ensuring a more effective service for everyone.

“Despite health being devolved to Labour-run Wales, the First Minister campaigned to modernise the NHS in the run-up to the General Election, even holding up a placard on the campaign trail!

“With patients in England promised full access to medical records, test results and letters from doctors available on an NHS app, it seems that Eluned Morgan put electioneering ahead of meaningful action in Wales.

“We’re all left wondering what exactly Eluned Morgan was promising for Wales beyond allowing a digital divide to develop between patients in Wales and England.

“At Plaid Cymru’s Annual Conference, I promised that a Plaid Cymru government would grant patients access to digital health records – a level of commitment sadly absent from Labour’s ambitions in Wales.

“Currently the digitisation of our Health service in Wales has been too fragmented with patients and clinicians alike failing to access their data from a central point.

“Labour’s failure to invest in this means that we are many years behind where we should be, and patients in Wales will remain in the analogue age when patients in England power forward with digitisation. It’s time for change in Wales.”