Angela Burns: I'm so pleased to hear your warm words about the importance of maintaining and developing primary care and the importance about it not just being about the GP, but, of course, using all the other allied healthcare professionals that are vital to making community services work. Now, last week, the First Minister said to me at about this point in time, I think, that, 'the health service needs...
Angela Burns: Trefnydd, I have two issues that I'd like to bring before you today. I note, from the written statement from Vaughan Gething, the Minister for Health and Social Services, issued today, that he intends to issue a further statement on the governance arrangements in Cwm Taf health board and on the maternity services early next year. I would urge the Government to turn this into a proper debate....
Angela Burns: Thank you for bringing forward a statement on the Bill today, Minister. The Welsh Conservatives will be supporting it. I know that it's very much looked forward to by the medical profession—it's a great step forward. I do want to just echo the comments made by the three Chairs who've spoken, as to why we've had to rush this at the last knockings and why it didn't come forward earlier on...
Angela Burns: Would you take an intervention?
Angela Burns: I just wondered if, for the record, it might be worth you just rehearsing what effect you think there might be on the whole scheme if the Medical Defence Union choose not to come forward and what effect that might have on general practitioners.
Angela Burns: Will the First Minister provide an update on the Welsh Government's plans to tackle Bovine TB?
Angela Burns: I listened to the numbers that you have just laid out for Lynne Neagle. They sound big and they sound great, they sound like there's an awful lot of money, but the reality is: is it enough money for the amount of requirement that there is? One of the concerns I have is about how we are targeting our preventative spend in the health sector. I asked a question along these lines last week to the...
Angela Burns: Would you take an intervention? You're most kind for taking the intervention, Helen Mary. I just wanted to draw to your attention, and I'm sure you will agree with me that, in fact, one of the big barriers is the postcode lottery that we see throughout our health boards, with many not prioritising this, so that—. People do want to die and have that support where they want be, and that 24...
Angela Burns: Would you take an intervention, Minister?
Angela Burns: Thank you for that comment, where you're going to write to—or you've written to—the health boards. But could I also draw your attention to the fact that a lot of hospice services provided in the community are currently being funded through clusters? And as you and I know, one of the principles behind a cluster is that the clusters use their funding to pilot and start up ideas. The...
Angela Burns: Thank you, Presiding Officer, and I'd like to thank everyone who's taken part in this debate today because, of course, it touches on a subject that will affect all of us at one point or another in our lives, whether it's, well, ourselves, obviously, our loved ones, our families, our friends. I do want to pay tribute to Mark Isherwood, because, as the chair of that cross-party group, he has...
Angela Burns: Yes, but my point was that you deleted it from the motion and yet I think that knowing that number is very, very key. Very, very quickly, actions on the recommendations made by the cross-party group is what we're seeking; a concerted drive to address the gaps in data collection, that the data collected is reported consistently and transparently—you've talked about the review of funding. I...
Angela Burns: Will the Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's spending priorities in Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire?
Angela Burns: Of course, another challenge to the retention of dentists in Wales is the lack of support they're currently getting if they have stress-related illnesses. Now, this was highlighted by the British Dental Association. They've raised it as a significant issue amongst dentists that work in the NHS throughout the whole of the UK, not just in Wales. Now, in England, the Department of Health and...
Angela Burns: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. The Welsh Conservatives are pleased to support the general principles of the Bill before us. However, there are areas that we would like to see either added to, amended or improved, and I'd like to touch on three specific areas. I'd like to start with the duty of quality. Minister, there does need to be more clarity as to how the provision of quality would...
Angela Burns: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. As a result of serious concerns about the quality and safety of care within maternity services at Cwm Taf, you commissioned an investigation into the provision of those maternity services. You asked the Royal College of Midwives and the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists to undertake the investigation. This they did in January of...
Angela Burns: Let's be clear: Cwm Taf was already struggling. There were reports from Healthcare Inspectorate Wales in 2015, which raised concerns about the quality of patient experience, the delivery of safe and effective care, and the quality of management and leadership. There was a report by the workforce and organisational development team in 2016, which identified significant issues, including the...
Angela Burns: Well, let's be clear—the five operational objectives that provide a framework for Cwm Taf's IMTP plan include: to improve the quality, safety and patient experience, and to provide strong governance and assurance. Now, Dai Lloyd has already raised the evidence that we had from the director of community mental health and primary care at Cwm Taf over Parc prison. We're not questioning the...
Angela Burns: I must say, Mike Hedges, I think you've pretty much eviscerated the independence call on finances. Minister, I would like to address my contribution today to the need to increase any consequentials due to the NHS into the NHS, and not for them just to be absorbed by the Government. A common refrain from your benches, when any criticisms are raised of NHS failures, is that if you had more...
Angela Burns: Good afternoon, Minister, and thank you for today's statement and for the advance sighting of it. I think there are some very good signs being shown in the 'Train. Work. Live.' campaign, and I especially welcome the efforts to improve the recruitment of young people and to increase the training places across all the healthcare professions. Now, one of the aims was to attract a more diverse...
