, Plenary
Short Debate: Filling the gaps: The case for training dentists in Bangor
Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd, and thank you to Siân Gwenllian for presenting this short debate on increasing the number of dental training places. She's outlined the case for improving the workforce in this area and the potential for providing dental services in…
, Plenary
Short Debate: A fair chance—Ensuring blind and partially sighted people can live the life they choose
The RNIB estimates nearly one in five people will experience permanent sight loss in their lifetime, with one in three experiencing some sight loss in their lifetime. In Wales, an estimated 3.5 per cent of the population are living with sight loss that…
, Plenary
Short Debate: A fair chance—Ensuring blind and partially sighted people can live the life they choose
Losing eyesight can have a deep effect on the well-being of a person. The 'Time to Focus' report, which was launched by the charity, Fight for Sight, vividly illustrates the personal impact and the wider costs of sight loss. It reveals that seven out of 10…
, Plenary
Short Debate: A fair chance—Ensuring blind and partially sighted people can live the life they choose
Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd, and thank you to Julie Morgan for bringing forward this debate today. It's an important issue, as we've heard, that touches the lives of so many people across Wales. It's also very timely, following the earlier debate on improving…
, Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Ophthalmology services
We are the only UK nation to even have this target. It's a clinical measure, crucial for the many people who require timely follow-up care. It enables the NHS to identify both new and follow-up patients and prioritise those at greatest risk of sight loss…
, Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Ophthalmology services
Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. I welcome the opportunity to respond to this debate and to explain how we're working with the health service to reduce waiting times and to enhance access to eye care in the community and in our hospitals. I also look forward to…
, Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Ophthalmology services
Formally.
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
I'm sorry to hear of the Member's constituents' experience of that, which is unacceptable. He will know the priority that this Government attaches to reducing waiting times. There are clear targets against which we expect health boards to perform, but the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
I met the chair of the health board this week and discussed the health board's achievements, including the 80 per cent reduction in the number of patient pathways waiting over two years since March 2022, the improvements in mental health performance, and…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Well, firstly, I'm sorry to hear the experience of those individuals as they reported it to the Member. I was not aware of the group to which the Member refers, and perhaps if you would be happy to write to me, I would make myself more familiar with the work…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
We published our policy approach to the care of critically ill patients in October 2021. We expect health boards in Wales to apply clinical guidance from the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine and the Intensive Care Society. The NHS executive’s relevant…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
I know that Hwb Iechyd Cybi has been successful in recruiting GPs recently—that, of course, is to be greatly welcomed. The situation can be very challenging, can't it, when gaps appear that are difficult to fill, and that is so important. So, we'll wait to…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Well, the Member will wish to know that the negotiations for contracts, including for GMS, but also for primary care providers, have started today, so we hope that they will go forward in a constructive way and enable that support to be provided. The Member…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Firstly, let me say I'm disappointed to hear of the experience that you're reporting that your constituents have had. It's obviously important that the public are able to have timely access to GP services. As the Member will know, the general medical services…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Primary care services are busier than ever, delivering more advanced clinical services than before the pandemic across the various professions, fulfilling our commitment to bringing care closer to home. There are now around 2 million patient interactions each…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Well, more people are employed by the health service now than ever before. The GP figures are consistent, after a significant increase. There are recruitment challenges in parts of the health and care service, as is the case across the United Kingdom The work…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
I think the Member’s rhetoric is getting rather ahead of the facts of this matter. I think, just to repeat, if he didn’t hear my response to the earlier question, what the First Minister announced in the conference was a different approach whereby I think…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Well, I think, if you look at the longest waiting lists under my predecessor, the First Minister, we’ve seen significant progress over the past two years, with progress in achieving the target, with 67 per cent fewer people on the longer waiting lists than…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Well, I think there is a plan for cutting those waiting lists. The point that the First Minister was making yesterday reflects the point that I have just made to the Member in my reply now, which is how important it is for the health service to look to best…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Well, just to be clear, I think the Member, if I may say, is somewhat wide of the mark if he thinks that I share the Conservative view on how to run the NHS. And to be clear, the principle that the Welsh Government has applied in making use of private sector…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Well, the Welsh Government has made use of private sector capacity for the common good, if you like, for many years. We recognise that the priority that the Government attaches to reducing waiting lists means that we will have to look at whatever options are…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
That's an important consideration. I think making sure that services to which the public need access are supported by provisions in the new legislation, obviously, is critical. I think there'll be an opportunity to discuss in more detail what that looks like…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Well, the transport Secretary and I are of the same mind in relation to this. We both recognise how important it is to have bus services that enable families, communities to be connected to services, as well as to each other. I think the point that the Member…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
I thank the Member for that question. I think what motivates his question is the contribution that the health service can make to the broader ambitions that we have as a country in relation to our net-zero goals and responding to the climate emergency. But I…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Health boards in Wales have, since 2008, been required to have sustainable travel plans in place for patients and staff at their main hospital sites. Monitoring arrangements are in the hands of the health boards, and the plans are not submitted or monitored…
