, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care: Health and care winter 2026-27 preparedness
Thank you for those points that you raised. And it is a very important point that you raised; the thread of your contribution is about ensuring that we work cross-Government, breaking down those silos and making sure that everybody plays a role in ensuring…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care: Health and care winter 2026-27 preparedness
Thank you very much to the Member for those questions.
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care: Health and care winter 2026-27 preparedness
Dirprwy Lywydd, a number of very pertinent questions there and I'll try my best to go through as many of them as I can in the time I have. And I will be testing your patience, I know, because I have been speaking quite a lot this afternoon. I like the fact…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care: Health and care winter 2026-27 preparedness
Health boards and partners must support and sustain their workforce, ensuring that staff are well led, well deployed and properly supported so they can continue to deliver safe and timely care under pressure. Dirprwy Lywydd, none of this can be delivered by…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care: Health and care winter 2026-27 preparedness
However, Dirprwy Lywydd, I can assure the Senedd that the hard work to ensure that our communities are safe and healthy through the cold of the forthcoming winter has already begun. The clearest lesson from last winter is that resilience depends on reliable…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care: Health and care winter 2026-27 preparedness
Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Today, I'm setting out how we are preparing for winter 2026-27. We have reviewed winter 2025-26 in full, and I would like to begin by thanking staff across the NHS, local government and social care for their commitment and…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care: Improving Leadership and Performance at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Dirprwy Lywydd, the Member is entirely right in saying that we need to see improvements as a matter of urgency, and I agree and sympathise with what the Member has said. That's why I have listed very clearly our expectations of the board so that they can come…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care: Improving Leadership and Performance at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Dirprwy Lywydd, the Member said that she's heard it all before; I beg to differ, because what we've put forward today is different from previously, as I've explained. So, I won't go into repeating myself, if you can forgive me for that. But the Member did say…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care: Improving Leadership and Performance at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
The intention or, indeed, the purpose of these extended measures, Dirprwy Lywydd, is to hold the health board—any health board—to account on the delivery of health services. I have set out my expectations of the health board in north Wales clearly in terms of…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care: Improving Leadership and Performance at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Dirprwy Lywydd, I won't repeat what I've said about the difference between what we're promoting here and what we've seen in the past, which is the first point that the Member raised. The Member asked about Donna Ockenden. Donna has done a number of tremendous…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care: Improving Leadership and Performance at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
If I may start with the final point, no, I will not even countenance the idea of allowing a health board from outside of Wales to take over Betsi Cadwaladr, because they work to different rules and regulations. We've got devolution here. We've got our own…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care: Improving Leadership and Performance at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Dirprwy Lywydd, if I start with the final point.
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care: Improving Leadership and Performance at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Dirprwy Lywydd, the Member started by referring to his wife, who works for the board. May I take a moment to thank her and every nurse and midwife working in very difficult circumstances in north Wales? Their work is recognised and appreciated by this…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care: Improving Leadership and Performance at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
The estate, yes, which is what I've just responded to there. In the question on the estate, you asked about whether or not the hubs that we're putting in are going to be permanent. Again, to repeat what I've said previously, we will be clinically led. Some of…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care: Improving Leadership and Performance at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Deputy Llywydd, the Member is right in her critique of the situation where we've got problems in primary care—we'll start there—when it comes to GPs, and that feeds into the problem that we have at, for instance, Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, but in fact in Wrexham…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care: Improving Leadership and Performance at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Once again, the Member makes some really important points. I understand also that, as a Member for the north of Wales, he also has an interest in making sure that this works. And he was absolutely right when he started his contribution saying, 'I am…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care: Improving Leadership and Performance at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Thank you for those questions. I agree with a lot of what has been said, because during the committee debates we've had, we've raised these issues about Betsi Cadwaladr, and clearly there's a cross-party issue here in wanting to resolve this. In fact, I…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care: Improving Leadership and Performance at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Importantly, this intervention is designed not only to address immediate performance pressures, but to tackle the underlying causes of repeated failure. It will examine whether the organisation has the leadership capacity, capability and culture needed to…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care: Improving Leadership and Performance at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
This is a serious intervention, reflecting the persistent and unresolved concerns. Previous arrangements have relied on the health board identifying and delivering its own recovery, with support alongside it. That approach has not delivered the scale or pace…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care: Improving Leadership and Performance at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Thank you very much, Dirprwy Lywydd. Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has been in a heightened state of escalation for the past 11 years, with the current level 5 escalation in place since February 2023. Despite significant financial and targeted…
, Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Hospital services and hospital closures
Isn't this what we all want for our own families and aren't we duty-bound as political leaders to fight for the solutions that truly improve survival rates and good health outcomes for patients, rather than just protecting the status quo because that's…
, Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Hospital services and hospital closures
There is a need for an honest conversation about how we ensure our NHS estate keeps pace with modern healthcare. The question we must ask is how we best support our staff with the space, the technology and the environment they need to deliver the absolute…
, Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Hospital services and hospital closures
Thank you, Llywydd. When we talk about change in the NHS, we are talking about something that is extremely personal to every individual in Wales. We are talking about the services that people rely on when they are at their most vulnerable and concerned and…
, Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Hospital services and hospital closures
Formally.
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care: Delivering on our priorities: Reducing waiting times and strengthening primary care
Llywydd, I'd like to thank the Member for the question. I will answer in part but, forgive me, this sits under my colleague Delyth Jewell's portfolio, so I don't want to step on her toes. But I agree that the legacy that we've been handed from the previous…
