A FULL independent inquiry must be held to examine the “dire state” of healthcare in Monmouthshire, the local MP has said.

Health minister Eluned Morgan told the Senedd last month that the situation across Wales was “not great” - yet denied the NHS is in crisis.

However, Monmouth MP David Davies said he and constituents he has spoken to disagree after a catalogue of incidents.

These include an 84-year-old woman with a head inquiry who spent 24 hours being treated in ambulances outside Gwent’s new flagship hospital due to a lack of beds, and a suspected heart attack victim who was told she had to wait two hours for an ambulance.

Mr Davies said there were mounting pressures on the NHS across Wales, although the problem seemed “particularly acute” in Gwent amid concerns the £350m Grange University Hospital at Llanfrechfa is not fit for purpose.

“I am accused of undermining doctors, nurses and paramedics every time I raise this issue,” he said.

“The blame certainly does not rest with them. We are being let down by those in charge.”

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board has previously said that problems getting patients in and out of hospital are caused by knock-on effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and staff shortages across health and social care as well as and people not understanding how and when to access care.

Mr Davies says ambulance staff have said they are being kept waiting for hours outside The Grange before patients are admitted because of bed shortages. 

“When the new hospital was built and the accident and emergency department at Abergavenny’s Nevill Hall Hospital changed to a minor injury unit, residents were assured that healthcare would be far better because the longer ambulance journey to Llanfrechfa would be more than compensated for by the specialist and critical care ‘centre of excellence’ at The Grange,” said Mr Davies.

“This was based on the assumption that an ambulance would arrive within the eight-minute response time target for life-threatening ‘red’ category 999 calls, which isn’t happening.

“One NHS worker told me that if you live in Cwmbran, your chances of surviving a stroke or heart attack are much better than if you live in Monmouth or Abergavenny.

“We can no longer be using the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse and it absolutely has to get sorted out.”

Matters may get worse, Mr Davies said, if a planned “national roster review” by the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust leads to rapid response vehicles being moved away from rural areas in Monmouth and Chepstow. 

He is now calling on the Welsh Government to launch an independent public inquiry to examine healthcare failings affecting Monmouthshire and put forward recommendations.

Sonia Thompson, assistant director of operations (emergency medical service) at the Welsh Ambulance Service, said: “Significant pressure remains across the urgent and emergency care system, and we accept that our response times are disappointing.

“Extensive hospital handover delays coupled with sustained higher levels of life-threatening ‘Red’ calls as well as staff absence exacerbated by Covid-19 has led to some very long waits for patients in recent months.

“Many of the issues generating the pressures within which we operate are not within our control and are deep-rooted.

“We’re genuinely sorry to anyone who has had a poor experience from us and we continue to do all we can to help patients as quickly as possible.

“While we accept there is some nervousness among communities about the Wales-wide roster review, the goal ultimately is to ensure that our finite resources are aligned to demand.

“This is not about reducing or downgrading services; it’s about working smarter with the resources we have to deliver a bespoke service to communities, based on the nature and number of calls the data tells us we historically receive in that community, as well as what we predict that demand will look like in the future.

“The public can support us making use of the full range of options available to them, including the NHS 111 Wales website which should now be your first port of call for health advice and information.

“Please only call 999 in a serious or life-threatening emergency.”