EARLIER this week two hospitals in Cardiff and Vale health board were forced to cancel all outpatient appointments at short notice, because they simply couldn’t cope with demand. Many patients arrived at Llandough Hospital and the University Hospital of Wales that morning expecting their appointments to go ahead, only to find that they had been cancelled at the last minute.

I spoke to patients from Barry, Penarth and Llantwit who had travelled for appointments and who were extremely frustrated not to have been given warning. Clearly that is totally unacceptable and shows just how last minute this decision must have been.

It all leaves you with the impression that the Welsh Government didn’t plan ahead properly for the winter period. In other parts of the UK money was made available to plan for winter pressures several months ago. In Wales, meanwhile, Labour has only just woken up to the seriousness of the situation and it’s all too little, too late.

Sadly the proof is in the pudding, and despite the hard work of our dedicated Welsh NHS staff there is a sense that pressure is continuing to build on the system.

Over the Christmas period we saw some of the worst results for the Welsh NHS since records began and the Vale of Glamorgan was no exception.

Emergency patients from Penarth rely primarily on the Heath in Cardiff and, in some cases, the Princess of Wales in Bridgend.

Both fell well short of the target for A&E waiting times of 95 per cent patients being seen within four hours; The Heath managing to see just 74.5 per cent within the time frame, while just 71.3 per cent of patients at the Princess of Wales were treated on time.

Figures published last month also showed that just 42.6 per cent ambulances in the Vale arrived at category ‘A’ emergency calls within the target eight minutes – down from 58.7 per cent the year before.

We all saw the pictures of ambulances queuing outside A&E, a situation which only made things worse. Our emergency services have struggled throughout winter and it is clear that action needs to be taken to tackle this crisis.

It’s a vicious cycle. Ambulances can’t offload patients because A&E units are at breaking point, affecting their ability to get back on the road to the next patient. Meanwhile, A&E departments can’t admit patients quickly enough because there aren’t any free beds, and inpatients can’t be discharged from hospital because there isn’t enough capacity in the community to treat people in their homes.

Any solution will need to consider each of these aspects and must be developed in partnership with a range of organisations. For my part, last week I held a round table forum with local health bodies here at the Assembly.

Clearly, voluntary organisations like St John’s and Red Cross have a role to play supporting the health boards and organisations like the Royal College of Nursing and the British Medical Association.

We must find ways to take the pressure off our emergency services here in Cardiff and the Vale and one option I’d like to see considered is the feasibility of developing a minor injuries unit at Llandough Hospital, to complement the existing unit at Barry Hospital. I am committed to working with dedicated NHS staff to tackle the issues facing the emergency services in Wales.