05/05/2026
To the leaders of the next Welsh Government — whoever you may be,
We are the BEDS Campaign. We are not aligned to any political party. We stand for our communities — for the young and the old — and for those who need care most: the sick and vulnerable.
In your first days of leadership, we ask you to act with urgency and with vision.
Across Wales, there are closed wards and empty beds. At the same time, our A&E departments are under unbearable pressure — patients waiting for hours, even days, in conditions that are undignified and unsafe. Staff are stretched beyond their limits.
These beds once served our communities. They can do so again.
Will you commit to reopening them — safely, sustainably, and as part of a long-term plan to restore care closer to home?
There are skilled doctors, nurses, midwives and paramedics who cannot find stable work, while health boards spend tens of millions on agency staffing. This is not sustainable.
Will you deliver a national workforce plan that:
- invests in permanent staffing,
- strengthens rural healthcare,
- and supports professionals to build their lives within the communities they serve?
In our hospitals, patients are waiting in corridors. Staff are doing their best in systems that are failing them.
Will you:
- ensure experienced clinicians are present at the front door of A&E to improve triage,
- reduce delays by expanding step-down care and reablement,
- and prioritise patient dignity and safety at every stage of care?
Right now, people are dying while waiting for treatment.
This is not inevitable. It is the result of choices — and it can be changed by choices.
Short-term fixes have not worked. Agency spending has not solved the crisis. Private referrals have not solved the crisis.
Wales does not just need more spending.
Wales needs beds.
Beds in our communities. Beds for recovery. Beds that free up A&E and allow staff to deliver the care they trained to give.
Will you help us bring them back?
Because our communities cannot wait any longer.