Welsh Conservatives Plan NHS Reserve Service with Retired Staff
Retired doctors and nurses would be re-engaged to form a reserve service within the NHS under a Welsh Conservative government, the party has announced.
Darren Millar, leader of the Senedd group, stated that former healthcare workers, alongside newly-qualified and private sector clinicians, would be deployed to health boards during periods of peak demand if the Tories secure victory in the Senedd election this May.
One retired nurse expressed to BBC Wales a willingness to return to work but voiced significant concerns regarding the maintenance of clinical skills after extended absence.
The Conservative party declared it would announce a "health emergency" if elected, committing to immediate measures to expand NHS capacity and enhance patient safety.
Additionally, the party pledged to promptly reopen closed wards in existing community hospitals throughout Wales and increase annual funding for health and social care during the next Senedd term.
A key commitment includes eliminating the NHS waiting times backlog, aiming that by May 2030 "no-one has an unacceptable wait for treatment." Recent data indicated the number of patients awaiting treatment decreased by the largest margin on record, currently standing at just under 757,900.
The Welsh Conservative health manifesto outlines the establishment of the NHS Wales Reserves Service, designed to create a pool of staff available for deployment during crises.
Millar told BBC Wales:
"Staffing of the NHS is a disaster in Wales at the moment. There hasn't been effective workforce planning by the Labour government or indeed by their partners, so we need to make sure we've got a proper workforce plan.
There are doctors out there in Wales at the moment who have just qualified. There are nurses who have just qualified, who don't have a job, they don't have any employment. And that's ridiculous when you consider the situation that the NHS is in."
He elaborated that the reservist initiative aims "to bring people back into the workforce at times of peak need, so that they can help us to get to grips with these challenges, that's our focus." This would include individuals who have retired, those who have left healthcare professions for other careers, and private sector workers willing to make themselves available to the NHS to serve the country.
Retired NHS nurse Jane Rowlands-Mellor, aged 57 from Cardiff, expressed a desire to return to work but raised concerns about skill retention.
"I would love to be able to go back and help," she said.
"But I would have real concerns about how skillsets would be maintained.
This could ultimately affect quality of care and patient safety. The priority must be to safeguard our patients," she added.
"Things advance very quickly in healthcare, even basic nursing care could be a challenge with technology changes, etcetera.
How would people keep their skills current?"
Katherine Davies from Pembrokeshire, who retired from nursing nearly 30 years ago but continued as a bank nurse for some years, noted that she is now unable to return due to health reasons but emphasized other priorities for NHS improvement.
The 76-year-old, who has had a knee replacement, stated:
"What the NHS needs is for staff need to be paid more and better working conditions."
The British Medical Association (BMA) in Wales expressed support for the proposal. Dr Iona Collins, chair of the BMA's Welsh Council, commented:
"BMA Cymru Wales supports the use of retired doctors to bolster NHS capacity during periods of heightened demand and to address ongoing backlogs."
However, she stressed pension taxes must be addressed, as they currently "serve to push senior doctors out of the NHS prematurely," causing the "unnecessary loss" of experienced staff.
"In order for senior doctors to voluntarily rejoin the NHS out of retirement at times of peak need, the punitive pension tax must be removed, which would not only keep the existing senior workforce within the NHS, but enable those who have retired to consider returning in times of surge demand."
The comprehensive Tory health manifesto also promises to end corridor care in Wales and set a maximum 12-hour wait for patients seated in emergency departments.
It includes plans to establish a dental school in north Wales and create a fund dedicated to constructing new hospitals and modernizing hospital and primary care facilities across Wales.
The party is conducting the second day of its conference in Llandudno amid challenges including defections to Reform UK and poor polling suggesting a possible fourth-place finish.
On Friday, it was revealed that two senior aides resigned from the party to work for two Reform MSs, themselves former Conservatives.
