The leader of the Welsh NHS Confederation has said the "extreme pressure" health services are under is expected to get worse. Darren Hughes, director of the Confederation, the membership body representing all the organisations that form the NHS in Wales, said the strain been exacerbated by higher levels of staff absence due to rising Covid cases, with approximately one in 12 people in Wales currently infected. He added that many hospital patients were unable to be discharged due to Covid-related staff absences in the social care sector, which is also facing "huge pressures".
Speaking to BBC Radio Wales on Thursday, March 31, he said: "It is [expected to get worse] at the moment, because what we're seeing is, people who are waiting for elective treatment, planned treatment, their conditions have got worse. We're seeing hospitals full to near capacity. There are about 1,500 people in hospital at the moment with Covid - that's the equivalent of taking the whole of the University Hospital in Cardiff out of the NHS system.
"But also, in primary care, in communities across Wales, there are high levels of Covid amongst GP practices and staff, which means that they're struggling to cope. We are under extreme pressure, and I think it's important to remind the public - and also politicians - that Covid has not gone away, and we're going to be dealing with the after effects for years to come."
