PM claim that NHS waiting times are worse in Wales than in England was ‘misleading’
Theresa May got her knuckles rapped by an official watchdog after making a 'non valid' comparison to attack Welsh A&E performance over English departments during PMQs
THERESA May was slapped over the wrist by an official watchdog yesterday after using “misleading” figures to criticise NHS waiting times in Wales.
The PM had claimed at PMQs that more than seven times as many patients were waiting over 12 hours in Welsh casualty departments than in England.
But the UK Statistics Authority said the comparison was “not valid” after a probe. The decision came after Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones complained about her attack.
In a letter the stats boss Sir David Norgrove wrote: “You are right to say that the comparison is not valid.
“The figure used for England refers to the accident and emergency wait time from the decision to admit to admission into another part of the health service.
“The figure used for Wales represents the entire time patients wait from arriving to leaving accident and emergency services, including the time from decision to admit to actual admission.”
Last night Mrs May’s official spokesman said they accepted the judgement of the UKSA.
But he added: “The point that the Prime Minister was making - in terms of the fact that the A&E in England performed better than A&E in Wales in relation to this target - still stands.”
Ministers have repeatedly highlighted the poor performance of the NHS in Labour-run Wales as they sought to defend their handling of the health service in England.
On January 25, Mrs May was responding to questions from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn about a winter crisis which he said had seen NHS England record its worst-ever A&E waiting time figures.
She said: “If he wants to talk about figures and about targets being missed, yes, the latest figures show that, in England, 497 people were waiting more than 12 hours, but the latest figures also show that, under the Labour Government in Wales, 3,741 people were waiting more than 12 hours.”
But Mr Jones wrote to the Statistics Authority to complain of the PM’s “misleading” comments, and warning: “Selective misuse of statistics like this does not allow for a fair debate on the NHS.
“Research such as the OECD Review of Health Care Quality showed that there was no consistent picture of one nation’s health system performing better than another.”