THE NHS in Wales faces “imminent meltdown” and requires an independent inquiry to start putting things right, doctors’ leaders have warned.

The plea comes from the British Medical Association (BMA) Wales, representing around 7,000 doctors, amid a stark summation of problems encountered by its members.

Recruitment and retention of doctors, lengthening waiting times, bed closures, and the underfunded transfer of services into primary care, are among a litany of problems BMA Wales believes the Welsh Government must address.

Vital too it believes, is a change in culture in the NHS in Wales so doctors’ and other staff concerns are welcomed and acted upon to improve services.

BMA Welsh Council chairman Dr Phil Banfield said members’ feedback across primary and secondary care indicates the service is struggling to cope.

“It is in crisis, staffing and morale wise. The sooner this (inquiry) takes place, the better. There’s a lot of sticking heads in the sand still going on,” he said.

“Our greatest fear is that it will become impossible to have an NHS in Wales.

“GP surgeries are closing and facing closure, and a (health board) managed practice is much more expensive.

“The idea was to shift five per cent of funding to primary care last year, but only 0.2 per cent was transferred.

“They are trying to move secondary care to primary care on a reduced budget, and wonder why no-one wants to become a GP.”

Recently, BMA Wales asked members about their concerns, an informal inquiry attracting 450 responses in a week.

“This was unprecedented. People talked about feeling undervalued and overworked, and said if they didn’t do what they were doing, what a mess the NHS in Wales would be in,” said the BMA’s Welsh secretary Dr Richard Lewis.

“Some said they couldn’t recommend Wales as a place to come to work, some were considering early retirement, and younger ones were contemplating working elsewhere.”

With restrictions on finances, priorities are needed, but Dr Banfield said in the NHS in Wales that “seems to be done on the basis of political imperative, not patient need.”

“There are difficulties with rotas in many specialties, the locum bill is through the roof. Reconfiguration (of services) is not being driven by patient need, but crisis control. The service is facing imminent meltdown.”

BMA Wales also wants an inquiry to rewrite complaints procedures, leading a move toward an open, more transparent NHS where staff are not fearful of raising concerns, and where criticism is used as an opportunity for improvement.

Currently, this is not happening, said Dr Lewis: “Very often our members raise complaints but despite legislation and protection, they find organisations are in denial or that if complaints are listened to, they are not acted upon.

“And if those complaints are persistent, it reaches a point where they are considered a nuisance.”