More than £600 million has been paid out in Welsh NHS clinical negligence and personal injury claims over the past five years, the Senedd has heard.
The payout figures were raised in the Siambr on Tuesday October 20 by Welsh Conservative leader Darren Millar, who urged the Welsh Government to declare a "health emergency".
Speaking during First Ministers Questions, Mr Millar described the figure as “eye-watering” and said it was further evidence of the “crisis engulfing the NHS here in Wales”.
While behind each payout were families and individuals who have suffered, Mr Millar said the priority must be the prevention of tragedies.
He said: “Every pound paid in compensation is a pound that could have been invested in delivering better care, better facilities for patients, and better outcomes for them across the country.”
First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth agreed that compensation was money lost from “tackling serious issues”. However, he rejected the demand to declare a formal emergency and said giving the situation a title “doesn’t make a difference".
He said: “There will always be mistakes made, by very, very well-meaning and professional health workers, and the compensation system exists in order to address that and pay recompense where that is necessary.
“But we are a government that is determined to root out those issues that are creating the unsustainability of the NHS, and perhaps the unsustainability that is leading to problems that could end up with a compensation payout.”
He continued: “What we have done since coming into government, in that very short time, is make that financial investment in speeding up flow through the system.
“The kind of governance changes that we believe will lead to better management and, hopefully, if we get this right, to reducing the number of errors that happen within the health service, and improving our ability to target what is going wrong across the health service.”
“Better partnerships”
Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, Jane Dodds asked the First Minister whether there were plans to restructure health boards in Wales.
She pointed to comments made by Mr ap Iorwerth, while in opposition, where he described Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board as “too large, too unwieldy and too distant from the people it serves”.
Earlier this month, the First Minister had said it was the “last chance saloon with Betsi Cadwaladr” and suggested Wales must be ready to break up the health board.
Ms Dodds, the Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd MS, said that in response to bed closures in Powys, Plaid Cymru members suggested merging Powys Teaching Health Board with Hywel Dda or Betsi Cadwaladr.
She said: “That idea was nowhere in your manifesto, so I'm seeking to put on record that this is not something that Plaid Cymru are intending to do.”
The First Minister clarified that his government has no plans for restructuring, but it was looking for “better partnerships” between health boards.
He continued: “We did not come into government saying we're going to restructure the health boards. What we did say we would do, is deliver a more sustainable NHS service and care service for the people of Wales.
“If it means getting to grips with the organisation and shapes of boards in the future, we'll look at that. But let's crack on with the work that we have begun as a government now. I believe it will reap results.”
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