Wales: The Sick Man of Britain?

All across the UK and much of the wider world, health services are struggling to address a backlog of medical referrals and treatments that built up during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these services were themselves not operating optimally before the pandemic, which has compounded existing problems. Wales is no exception. The NHS here is under considerable strain and despite the efforts of the Welsh Government to address these issues, the recent announcement that 1 in 4 people in Wales are on a waiting list suggests that the scale of the problem is going to take some significant work to address. To discuss this in detail we are joined by: Professor Jon Barry - https://twitter.com/jonbarry24 Consultant general surgeon specialising in metabolic surgery at the Welsh Institute of Metabolic and Obesity Surgery in Morriston Hospital, Swansea. Currently Clinical Director of the Integrated Surgical Services Group. Director in Wales of the Royal College of Surgeons. and Lowri Jackson - https://twitter.com/LowriRhiannon Head of policy and campaigns for the Royal College of Physicians in Wales, leading the college’s communications work across Wales and Northern Ireland. For all the latest from Hiraeth, follow us: And if you're enjoying the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on your podcast app of choice and/or supporting us via Patreon from as little as £3/month: https://www.patreon.com/HiraethPod