A GWENT MP said it is time to stop re-organising the health service after Plaid Cymru called for a radical restructuring of medical services in Wales.

The proposals would see the scrapping of local health boards, which would be replaced by one Wales-wide body.

But Monmouth Tory MP David Davies said: “We have already re-organised the health service on a number of occasions . Surely it is time to stop re-organising it and try to get it working properly. We should be looking at waiting times and what England is doing.”

Plaid Cymru’s Shadow Health Minister Elin Jones has launched a paper which consults on what Plaid call "the best way to bring about a much-needed alignment of health and social care".

The paper outlines two options to merge health and social services in order to deliver long-term sustainable services for the future.

One of the models proposed in the paper is to scrap local health boards and replace them with one national health board to deliver secondary and tertiary care. Local authorities would be given the responsibility to deliver primary care and community health services. The other option presented in the paper is to bring adult social care services under the responsibility of the seven local health boards.

Ms Jones said: “These proposals are about streamlining the system so that we have a much more dynamic service.

“It’s clear that the current model of health and social care is too cumbersome. There are too many boundaries in the system that cause unnecessary bureaucracy which delays the transfer of patients throughout their recovery process.”

Newport Liberal Democrat councillor Ed Townsend also said major reorganisation was not needed.

He said: “The NHS probably needs major reorganisation like a hole in the head.

“We do need to improve the way in which social services and health care are linked. The solution of creating a single board strikes me as being the least likely way of doing it well.”

Chepstow Labour councillor Armand Watts said: “Putting it all under one umbrella is not a responsible way forward.

"If there is any change it has to be about making health boards more accountable to local people.”