Gareth Davies: As ever. Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llywydd, and thank you for your statement this afternoon, Minister. I wish you a happy new year, and to all Members of the Senedd. Yet again, we're—
Gareth Davies: I was just trying to be nice.
Gareth Davies: Yet again, we're in a situation of talking about winter pressures when we're in the full throes of wintertime, which is a reactive measure rather than a proactive measure, Minister. Any prudent Government would be making this type of statement when the sun shines, when we're wearing shorts and sandals. But I want to focus my question on how winter pressures reflect on care homes. I visited...
Gareth Davies: As we know, loving your liver is loving your entire health and well-being. However, as this day tells us, liver disease and liver cancer have lifelong impacts on sufferers’ lives. This day also highlights how liver cancer is increasingly affecting more lives, with it becoming the fastest cause of cancer deaths in the UK, with mortality rates almost doubling between 2010 and 2020. The...
Gareth Davies: I'm afraid the Welsh Labour Government claims to be in favour of universal healthcare, but it's once again proving that this is not the case. Rather than be universal, it's showing itself just to be south Wales healthcare, and north Wales, once again, being left behind by politicians in Cardiff Bay. We've rightly called the Welsh air ambulance service invaluable, because it is invaluable to...
Gareth Davies: I'd like to thank Peter Fox for raising this important issue in his short debate today. I'm currently undertaking a programme of care home visits in my constituency, because I want to see for myself what some of the issues are locally in my patch and, indeed, the case across Wales. The emerging theme is that a lot of care homes can't meet their capacity because they're understaffed. They...
Gareth Davies: First Minister, the Flying Start scheme was introduced back in 2007 as one of the Government’s top priorities for tackling poverty in Wales, but currently Wales has the highest rate of children living in poverty compared to the rest of the nations in the UK. First Minister, this is quite frankly unacceptable and a damning record of 25 years of Labour Government here in Wales. So, what...
Gareth Davies: Trefnydd, I'd like to ask for a Government statement this afternoon on the news that senior Denbighshire county councillors have been meeting in private to discuss reductions in care home fees that will take the county's offering to below some other north Wales authorities and affect some of the most vulnerable people in my constituency. The chair of Care Forum Wales, Mario Kreft said, and I...
Gareth Davies: 6. What measures is the Welsh Government taking to reduce the catfish population in Denbighshire? OQ58949
Gareth Davies: Thank you for that answer, Minister. Do not worry, I'm pleased to inform you that I won't be asking about online dating apps today. I've been contacted by constituents in the Rhyl area who are concerned about the amount of catfish in local waters, particularly around the Brickfield pond, as you mentioned, Minister, off Cefndy Road in Rhyl, and the Rivers Clwyd and Dee. To provide a brief...
Gareth Davies: Will the Member take an intervention?
Gareth Davies: When you met the striking nurses on the picket line, did you inform them that health has been devolved to the Labour Goverment in Wales for nearly 25 years?
Gareth Davies: Can I ask for a statement from the Minister for Economy this afternoon on the upcoming closure of HSBC in Denbigh, which is due to close in August? Now, I understand it's part of a nationwide closure of 114 banks, I think, but I really believe that HSBC has been shortsighted in its strategy of closures, particularly in rural areas. Denbigh is a rural town in the heart of the Vale of Clwyd,...
Gareth Davies: Thank you for your statement this afternoon, Minister. Before I was elected to the Senedd, I worked in physiotherapy for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, so I'm all too aware of the problems that AHPs face in delivering good-quality care in the community. I welcome today's statement and the announcement of the £5 million, because it really is a step in the right direction. I can't...
Gareth Davies: 3. Will the Minister make a statement on community safety in Rhyl and Prestatyn? OQ58989
Gareth Davies: Thank you for that answer, Minister. Thanks to the work of the UK Government in increasing the amount of police officers in north Wales, crime is falling in Rhyl. But in a recent meeting with the local police force, it was noted that anti-social behaviour by youths as young as 13 is responsible for up to 75 per cent of all anti-social behaviour in Rhyl town centre. Sadly, a lack of strong...
Gareth Davies: I'm pleased this question has been raised today, and I thank the Member for Alyn and Deeside for bringing it up, as it's a perfect example of utter hypocrisy in the Welsh Labour Party. In one breath, they support the union paymasters who are hell-bent on bringing this country to its knees, with strike after strike after strike, but then, in the other breath, they're asking people to work...
Gareth Davies: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd, and it's a pleasure to contribute to this debate this afternoon. As someone who worked in the NHS for 11 years prior to being elected to the Senedd, and someone who is deeply rooted in the Rhyl and Prestatyn area, I feel slightly qualified to share some history and truths about healthcare in Denbighshire and north Wales, and pressures, indeed. The Royal Alexandra...
Gareth Davies: Absolutely, it's a great thing, Carolyn, and I will touch on that later in my speech, about some of the intricacies of that. One of the biggest lunacies of this agenda was when they closed the Conwy community hospital in 2003 to pave the way for the expansion of Llandudno General Hospital, which was subsequently downgraded to community status just a few years later. You couldn't make it up....
Gareth Davies: Okay. But with no tangible evidence and a spade not going in the ground, when will my constituents in Rhyl, Prestatyn, Rhuddlan, St Asaph and the surrounding areas be awarded this facility to take the pressures off Glan Clwyd Hospital? I know I've run out of time, but I'd just encourage Members to support amendments 1, 3 and 4 as seen on the agenda. Thank you.
