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NHS 'under pressure' but 'resilient', says Drakeford NHS 'under pressure' but 'resilient', says Drakeford
(35 minutes later)
The Welsh NHS is a system "under pressure" and the ambulance service is "not where we want it to be", Health Minister Mark Drakeford has told AMs. The Welsh NHS is a "system under pressure" and the ambulance service is "not where we want it to be", Health Minister Mark Drakeford has told AMs.
But he said the service was showing "remarkable resilience" and meeting patient needs on a "huge scale".But he said the service was showing "remarkable resilience" and meeting patient needs on a "huge scale".
On Wednesday, the British Medical Association called for an independent investigation into the NHS in Wales.On Wednesday, the British Medical Association called for an independent investigation into the NHS in Wales.
On the same day a woman died in an ambulance in a queue of emergency vehicles outside a Swansea hospital.On the same day a woman died in an ambulance in a queue of emergency vehicles outside a Swansea hospital.
The patient had been outside A&E at Morriston Hospital in Swansea for between 30 and 40 minutes when she died. Sonia Powell had been outside A&E at Morriston Hospital in Swansea for at least an hour when she died, her family claim.
Mr Drakeford was facing questions from the assembly's health committee. Calling for the inquiry, BMA Wales Chairman Dr Phil Banfield had warned the NHS in Wales was facing "imminent meltdown" unless action was taken swiftly.
BMA Wales also wants Healthcare Inspectorate Wales to become independent of the NHS and the Welsh government.
Mr Drakeford told the assembly's health committee that he had not seen the report yet but that he would be reading it over the weekend before it is debated by AMs next week.
"The NHS in Wales, as in all other parts of the United Kingdom, is a system under pressure," he said.
"Demand goes up - our ability to meet the demand through matching that demand with resource is compromised by cuts in budget that we face."
But he insisted the "big picture story" was of a "remarkably resilient service that provides for the needs of the Welsh people in planned and unplanned care on a huge scale".