HEALTH workers in Wales have welcomed the touted NHS collaboration between the British and Welsh governments – but concerns have been raised about private-sector involvement.

There are also calls for the recruitment crisis to be resolved. 

The announcement by Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens and First Minister Eluned Morgan at Labour’s conference – that the two governments would work together on NHS matters – led to a strong reaction from health union Unison Cymru/Wales.

Speaking exclusively to the Morning Star, the union welcomed the collaboration to improve NHS services for patients, but were less happy with private-sector involvement and wanted the recruitment crisis overcome.

Unison Cymru/Wales secretary Jess Turner said: “It is vital for the future of the NHS in both Wales and England that the two Labour governments work together to improve services for patients, particularly on the border, as well as conditions for the staff who work tirelessly to deliver them.

“Any collaboration must surely reference fair funding for Wales, as well as respect for Wales’ devolved values, which is why it is concerning to see the First Minister immediately reference increased use of the private sector to cut waiting lists. 

“Focused work on recruitment and retention is crucial to reducing waiting list times for patients and improving services overall, as is fixing the crisis in social care through a publicly delivered national care service for Wales.”

In a pointed reminder to the Welsh government that its social partnership legislation means trade unions are treated equally and consulted on changes, Unison also said it looked forward to proper engagement from the Welsh government.

The Welsh government declined to respond to the issues raised by Unison.

The new FM has insisted that tackling waiting lists was a key priority from her summer listening to the people of Wales.

The co-operation arrangement was raised in a fiery First Minister’s Questions with Welsh Conservative leader Andrew Davies wanting to know why the FM, in her former role, refused the same offer from the then British government in August 2023.

Ms Morgan said the reason why she declined the offer was because it was not serious and was done for party political reasons.

“We were ignored by Stephen Barclay for a whole year and then after a five-minute meeting with me, he went on television and made this offer without any discussion,” she added.