FORMER Welsh Secretary Simon Hart has argued that Covid-19 restrictions should have been consistent across the UK, rather than varying between the four nations. The former Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire MP, who served as Secretary of State for Wales from 2019 to 2022, said political influences shaped decision-making rather than purely focusing on disease control.

Speaking in an interview, Hart reflected on the challenges of navigating the pandemic and expressed concern over the fragmented approach taken by devolved governments, which he believes led to confusion and unnecessary complexity for residents.

A fractured response

“I just didn’t feel that decisions were being made purely on the basis of disease control and risk management,” Hart said, referencing the differing rules on mask mandates, lockdowns, and social distancing in Wales and England.

One example he cited was the stark contrast in restrictions when travelling between the two nations. Passengers crossing the Severn Tunnel by train were met with announcements informing them of different masking rules on either side of the border, which Hart believes highlighted an unnecessary and avoidable division in public messaging.

Politics at play?

According to Hart, decision-making at the time was not just about public health but also about politics. “More and more, as we went through the pandemic, I came to the conclusion that there was a lot of politics in the decision-making,” he said.

He suggested that some ministers in Cardiff deliberately sought to highlight differences with Westminster, creating friction between governments and undermining confidence in the UK’s pandemic response.

Lessons for the future

The former Chief Whip, who recently published his book Ungovernable: The Political Diaries of a Chief Whip, said his experiences during the pandemic serve as a reminder of the difficulties faced by politicians, health officials, and the public alike.

With restrictions lasting more than two years, Hart argues that greater UK-wide coordination could have reduced confusion and made public health messaging more effective. He believes that if a similar crisis were to happen again, a more unified approach should be considered to avoid unnecessary political and logistical complications.

Hart’s comments reignite the debate over whether the UK’s devolved system helped or hindered the response to the Covid-19 pandemic. While the Welsh Government has yet to respond to his claims, the discussion continues over whether differing approaches were necessary to address local needs or whether they simply sowed division in a time of national crisis.

A PRE-INQUEST review has heard that a Pembrokeshire mother would likely have survived had ambulance personnel arrived in time.

Charlotte Burston, 40, from Llanteg, fell ill with chest pains on Christmas Day 2023. Her teenage daughter called 999 twice, but an ambulance was delayed by over an hour and a half. With no medical help available, her stepfather, Brian Lye, drove her towards Withybush Hospital.

Tragically, she suffered a heart attack at Robeston Wathen and later died at Morriston Hospital on New Year’s Eve.

The Welsh Ambulance Service Trust (WAST) previously admitted an “error in allocation” regarding the emergency calls. A report presented at today’s hearing concluded that had a paramedic been present, a defibrillator could have been used, and Ms Burston would, on the balance of probabilities, have survived.

At the hearing on Friday (Feb 21) Pembrokeshire Coroner Mark Layton said: “Had the call been preferentially allocated, this would have led to somebody being sent to the address, and the allocation of such a person, on the balance of probabilities, would have altered the tragic outcome.”

A full inquest, expected to last a day, will take place in late spring or early summer.

SENEDD Members urged the Welsh Government to put an end to the “undignified and disrespectful” practice of corridor care in Welsh hospitals.

James Evans, the Conservatives’ shadow health secretary, warned corridor care has become the norm and the crisis can no longer be ignored.

He said: “A crisis where patients – mothers, fathers, grandparents – are left waiting in chairs for hours and sometimes days waiting for a bed.

“A crisis where ambulance crews spend hours parked outside hospitals and when they get inside they’re left waiting in corridors.

“A crisis where doctors and nurses, despite their dedication and tireless efforts, are being pushed beyond breaking point, describing their workplaces as war zones with patients placed everywhere. This is a national disgrace.”

Leading a Tory debate on February 19, Mr Evans raised a report by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) which warned corridor care is putting patients at risk in every part of Wales.

He told the Senedd: “If we’re serious about ending corridor care, we must also free up hospital capacity. We must pause the reduction in hospital beds and conduct a national review of NHS capacity.”

Mr Evans, who represents Brecon and Radnorshire, expressed concerns about social care being underfunded, understaffed and unable to take patients ready to leave hospital.

Urging ministers to accept the report’s recommendations, he highlighted the RCN’s calls for more clinical decision makers on weekends, district nurses and community care teams.

He said: “Corridor care should never be allowed to happen and we must never, ever tolerate it. This means making it a never event, something so unacceptable it must never happen.”

His Plaid Cymru counterpart Mabon ap Gwynfor described the RCN report as painting a bleak picture of a health service that puts patients and staff at risk.

“The report reinforces what we have heard,” he said. “With heart-rending examples of patients dying in their chairs in a hospital corridor while waiting for treatment.

“It’s a totally undignified and disrespectful way of treating our loved ones, and the [Welsh] Government must ensure that this practice comes to an end.”

Labour’s Carolyn Thomas pointed to the impact of 14 years of austerity, with cuts shared between social care and the health service.

The Conservatives’ Altaf Hussain said a 73-year-old constituent spent Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day being treated in the waiting room at Morriston Hospital.

Dr Hussain, a former surgeon, told the Senedd: “Emergency departments are working far above staffing guidelines that the Royal College of Emergency Medicine suggests.

“Staff are completely burnt out; they dread coming into work and many feel extremely anxious before their shifts. Many staff cry regularly on shift…. If nurses are telling us the situation is dire, we should listen and act.”

His Tory colleague Janet-Finch Saunders said more than 6,500 ambulances spent at least an hour outside a Welsh A&E waiting to offload patients in December alone.

She said:  “Nursing staff describe patients treated in chairs for over 24 hours – 48 hours I’ve witnessed – forced into hallways or in front of fire exits due to a lack of available beds.

“I know of one constituent only recently, I saw them being treated in a cupboard.”

Health secretary Jeremy Miles stated the Welsh Government will focus on strengthening the whole health and care system, not only hospitals.

He said: “I don’t believe that it is acceptable to provide care or treatment in areas that are not clinical settings, or areas that are inappropriate. But this is happening because the health service here and across the UK is under huge pressure.”

Mr Miles added: “Our district and community nursing teams play a vital role in delivering high-quality care closer to home, preventing unnecessary hospital admissions….

“We are committed to expanding and investing in this part of the nursing workforce to meet the needs of our population and to improve outcomes.”

Senedd Members voted 26-24 against the motion. The Welsh Government’s amendment, to note the report rather than commit to its recommendations, was agreed by the same margin.