Caroline Jones: What actions is the Welsh Government taking to improve the well-being of staff working in health and social care?
Caroline Jones: Thank you for your statement, Minister. NHS staff are our most important resource. Pumping millions of pounds extra into healthcare is to no avail unless we have the doctors, nurses, radiographers, lab technicians and healthcare assistants needed to deliver first-class care. I welcome the progress the 'Train. Work. Live.' campaign is making, and the fact that you have managed to exceed the...
Caroline Jones: I thank the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee for their report into community and district nursing services. Community nursing is an essential service that helps keep patients out of hospital and remain in their own homes. As our demography changes, as we all live longer with increasingly complex chronic illness, the services provided by district and community nurses become more...
Caroline Jones: I would like to put on record my thanks to the committee clerks and all those who took part in our inquiry into empty properties. I was not on the committee at the beginning of the inquiry and did not get the opportunity to question the majority of the witnesses, but I am grateful to all those who took time to inform us. We have a housing crisis in Wales, with over 60,000 households on a...
Caroline Jones: 1. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to protect and enhance biodiversity in South Wales West? OAQ54847
Caroline Jones: Thank you, First Minister. With my region home to one of the last remaining colonies of the fen raft spider, and as the species champion for this rarest of British spiders, I take a keen interest in preserving the biodiversity of South Wales West. My region is also home to one of the greatest example of sand-dune habitat in Europe—the Kenfig national nature reserve, as you've just...
Caroline Jones: While we welcome the Welsh Government's decision to use the consumer price index rather than the retail price index, this will still see business rates rise for struggling businesses across Wales. Using CPI still results in a 1.7 per cent increase for business rates across Wales, and, at a time when businesses are struggling and our high street is in serious decline, the worst thing we can do...
Caroline Jones: A few weeks ago, Cwm Brombil Ladies WI hosted an event for Age Connect at Neath Port Talbot in Margam Abbey as part of the Women's Institute link together to alleviate loneliness campaign. I'm proud to be a member of Cwm Brombil Ladies WI. In addition to working hard to tackle loneliness and isolation, the women in Cwm Brombil also work to reduce the impact of dementia, to raise funds for...
Caroline Jones: I thank Helen, Dai and David for tabling this debate. As I've said many, many times before, nurses are the backbone of our NHS. Unfortunately, successive Governments have failed to recruit and retain enough nurses, and Wales has an abysmal record on workforce planning, and we are seeing the results, because there are more nurses leaving the profession than joining. The fact that we needed to...
Caroline Jones: My condolences also—I'd like to place on record—to all families who have been affected. Thank you for your statement, Minister, and for facilitating the briefing with the independent panel and your officials. I welcome the progress being made to make maternity services in Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board safe for my constituents. As the panel highlights, there is a long way to...
Caroline Jones: 3. Will the First Minister outline the Welsh Government's plans to support people with autism in South Wales West? OAQ55009
Caroline Jones: Thank you for your kind words, Minister, and thank you for your answer to my question. At a meeting last Friday, despite the measures you outlined, my constituents are still struggling to get the support they need. It's bad enough for families seeking help for the children with autism, but they've highlighted that it can be equally traumatic for adults previously undiagnosed. So, First...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for your statement, Deputy Minister, and I welcome the Welsh Government's renewed commitment to our town centres. Empty shops are discouraging to potential shoppers and, when empty, can be vandalised, particularly late at night, making the town a no-go area. There are many empty shops in our town centres across Wales, and I therefore welcome the Welsh Government's town-centre-first...
Caroline Jones: 1. Will the Minister outline the steps being taken by Public Health Wales and NHS Wales to protect the public from Coronavirus? 387
Caroline Jones: Thank you, Minister. The threat we face from this new strain of coronavirus is of grave concern, and I am grateful that you have outlined the action your Government are taking to keep us safe. It is concerning that upwards of 5 million people are believed to have left Wuhan before the quarantine was put in place. Sadly, in the following weeks, we have seen this coronavirus outbreak spread,...
Caroline Jones: I thank Plaid Cymru for tabling this important debate today. At the start of a new decade, when our thoughts turn to the future, our NHS is once again beset by the problems of the past. Welsh A&E departments have just experienced their worst ever waiting times. The waiting times figures for last month show only 72 per cent spent less than four hours in A&E waiting to be treated, transferred...
Caroline Jones: Yes, certainly.
Caroline Jones: I do understand, Mike, that the pharmacy is an issue in a lot of hospitals, because they can't dispense the medication at a suitable time for people to go home, and a lot eventually comes at evening time and people are kept in longer than they need. So, that definitely needs to be looked into, and, thank you, Mike, for bringing that up. Successive Governments have failed to plan for the...
Caroline Jones: 6. Will the Minister outline how the Welsh Government is using major events to promote tourism in South Wales West? OAQ55052
Caroline Jones: Thank you for that answer, Minister. Wales is an emerging tourist destination, and, as of 2017, Wales's estimated turnover is £4.8 billion. Tourism is an important part of my region's economy, having the beauty of Gower and the seaside town of Porthcawl. The Liberty Stadium appears to be underutilised and lacks the number of sporting and music festivals that we see, perhaps, in Cardiff. So,...
