Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, for the opportunity to participate in this debate. It is an important debate, and I formally move the amendments in my name. We certainly welcome this debate. We support much of the wording of the motion, but certainly all of the sentiment that underpins the motion. Far too often, I think, when it comes to debates on how to provide care and social care and...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I will turn to the amendments—there are a number of them. We won’t be supporting the Government amendments. We don’t feel that setting that cap of £50,000 reflects fairness in the system. We would prefer to see more progress towards putting an absolute end to this dementia tax that we currently have. Amendment 2, in our view, is irrelevant. The Welsh Government could reform the...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much, and thanks to everyone who participated in this afternoon’s debate. Gadewch i mi ymateb yn syth i’r sylwadau a wnaeth cynrychiolydd UKIP. Rydym i gyd yn gwybod y dywedir wrthym nad oes unrhyw broblem gyda phobl sydd yn y DU ar hyn o bryd yn aros. Dyna’r math o sylw difeddwl, diystyr a oedd yn nodweddu’r ddadl Ewropeaidd. Mae’n ymddangos bod UKIP wedi gwneud...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you, Llywydd. I move the motion and ask for your support to that motion tabled in my name. The future of NHS staff who have been trained abroad has come under the spotlight this year following the change in the political climate since the referendum on membership of the European Union. NHS staff trained overseas face uncertainty because of two main factors. One is the likelihood that...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I’ve always fancied myself on the back of a motorbike and I had an opportunity a few days ago. Unfortunately, it wasn’t moving at the time—I haven’t passed a motorcycle test. But, I was in Holyhead outside Ysbyty Penrhos Stanley on the back of a wonderful motorbike called Elsa II, to draw attention to the launch of the new blood bike service in north-west Wales. For those of you who...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Following the recent announcement of the Cabinet Secretary, some people have contacted me as they are very keen to protect some specific aspects of the work of Communities First for the future. Môn CF in Holyhead, for example, are very proud of several aspects of the work that they’ve been undertaking in the town, and I congratulate them on that work. They have emphasised that they’re...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I thank the Cabinet Secretary for the statement today. As it happens, the health committee here at the Assembly is having an inquiry into winter preparedness in the NHS. We’re looking forward to the evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary in the next few days. Yes, there is evidence that has been heard as part of our inquiry so far that does show elements of additional...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I’ve spoken in this Chamber on a number of occasions about the importance of diagnostic tests. It’s been drawn to my attention by GPs in my constituency that waiting times for endoscopy tests have reached worrying levels over the past few months, with talk of patients having to wait a year and seven months having got to the top of the list. Would the First Minister give a commitment to...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much. Would the Member agree with me that we also need to use the excellent role models that we have in sports, for example, at the moment—we think of the Welsh team and players such as Ben Davies and Joe Allen—in order to ensure that young people look up to people who use the Welsh language?
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I’m going to concentrate on the importance of sites of special scientific interest, or SSSIs. As others have already noted, we are losing species at a frightening scale at the moment and, as the state of nature report states, one of the reasons for the loss of biodiversity is the decline of habitats. Wildlife needs room to prosper...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I think we all hear what you’re saying, Cabinet Secretary, in that Assembly Members, of course, have made their voices heard. But, whilst this is not a devolved matter, and we also accept that point, it is quite appropriate for the Government to make its opinions known and to make representations to UK Government on non-devolved matters. Would the Cabinet Secretary agree with me on that?
Rhun ap Iorwerth: We do have a specialist vascular centre in north Wales and that is in Bangor. According to all the statistics that we have now, in terms of the question on specialist services in Ysbyty Gwynedd, I realise that you don’t have a figure in terms of the number of services, but, as Bruce Forsyth says, ‘Higher or lower?’ That’s all I was asking for. In terms of special measures, it’s not...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: But we know, of course, of the wider problems across the board, and when the health board reaches such a point then one would expect radical steps—truly radical steps—to be taken to change things. All we’ve seen in reality is a change in senior management, and, at the moment, I tell you that people have no confidence that that in and of itself is going to introduce the change required....
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you, Llywydd. Another critical report has been published by the ombudsman today into the quality of care in Glan Clwyd hospital. This time it was a cancer patient who had to wait far too long for treatment. This is the third critical report from the ombudsman in just two months. It happens, of course, in a wider context where Betsi Cadwaladr is in special measures. Why does the health...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Welsh Government reports on the progress of Superfast Cymru are always glowing and, of course, you can’t deny the percentage increases that have been gained over the Superfast Cymru programme and, of course, it was through the One Wales Government that the superfast programme was launched. So, obviously, in principle, it’s great to have Superfast Cymru in motion. Unfortunately, we all...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. May I thank the Minister for this statement? Even though this Bill isn’t perfect, as I will explain further, I do welcome the Bill as it currently stands. It’s a shame that the content of what is before us wasn’t placed on the statute book previously, but I was one of those people who couldn’t accept the previous Bill because of the...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: The question is how much we do, of course, and remembrance week is a good time to remind ourselves that we owe a duty of care to former service personnel, and I have no doubt, of course, that the First Minister would agree with me on that. But the budget for the all-Wales veterans health and well-being service is just £585,000. That’s less than one hundredth of 1 per cent of the overall...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: We don’t know exactly how many veterans are suffering with mental health problems, because those exact figures aren’t published. But we do think that some 4 per cent do suffer post-traumatic stress disorder. We believe that some one in five suffer some sort of mental health problem. This is a minority of veterans, of course, but as we approach Remembrance Sunday, then every veteran should...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you, Llywydd. Is the First Minister aware of the scale of the problem of former members of the armed forces suffering mental health problems? Does he accept what the predecessor health committee said in describing support for veterans in Wales as being inadequate and inappropriate?
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I move the amendment tabled in my name. We have a great deal to celebrate in Wales, without doubt, in terms of cancer treatment. There are people surviving today who would not have done so just a few years ago. There is innovative research going on in our universities, but there is so much more to do and so much more room for improvement. Unreasonably long...
