Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Yes, I'm happy to have that meeting.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: If you don't mind, I would like to respond to that. This is a statement that we've been preparing. Clearly, I did not want to put that on any agenda until I had the opportunity to speak to the chair and the chief executive of the health board, and that happened last week. And since then, we've been working very hard since that meeting last Tuesday to put in place these measures. So, we've...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: If you don't mind, I would like to respond to that.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I am extremely aware of the seriousness of the situation, and it is clear that the situation in Betsi, in particular in those areas we've highlighted, is unacceptable. This is something that I made very clear to the chief executive and the chair when I met them last week. Can I be absolutely clear that this statement was earmarked before any suggestion of an opposition debate on this matter?...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch yn fawr. I did, of course, offer a briefing to your political representative on the health committee, and I'm sure he communicated to you what that information contained. There is nothing scattergun about this approach. We formally had measures in relation to mental health and governance, and now we are targeting this additional intervention at the area where we have greatest concern,...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Finally, it has become clear that the health board's current systems are largely reactive. External reviews have pointed to significant gaps in fundamental aspects of clinical service standards. That includes record keeping, incident management, team working, reporting concerns, leadership and morale. Many processes are in place, but there is not sufficient capacity in place and they're not...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Following the tripartite meeting between the Welsh Government, Healthcare Inspectorate Wales and Audit Wales, the NHS chief executive has recommended that the targeted intervention status at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board should be extended beyond mental health and governance issues to incorporate Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, focusing in particular on the vascular service and emergency...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Further to ongoing concerns at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, many of which have been raised in this Siambr, I asked the chief executive of NHS Wales to hold an extraordinary tripartite meeting on 26 May as part of the NHS Wales escalation framework. The situation in Betsi is unacceptable and it needs serious work and effort to correct. Services are not as...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: As part of the strategic programme for primary care, there is also a specific workstream on prevention and well-being. This workstream sets out a national primary proposal for mental health and well-being that will be the basis for planning and local provision. There are also other commitments under the programme for government for community services, and developing a national framework for...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch yn fawr. I'm grateful for the opportunity of this short debate today to discuss the important topic of access to health services. Now, under a Labour Government here in Wales there are now more doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals working in the NHS in Wales than ever before: over 104,000 people and 89,000 full-time equivalents—3,600 more staff than at the same time...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: The recovery plan for planned care has been published and this sets out a number of challenging targets for health boards to achieve across all specialisms, including secondary gynaecological care services. The gynaecological board that has just been formed will develop plans to reach these targets. This will include a variety of actions, including e-advice, better referral and discharge...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Absolutely. I think there is an injustice that has been going on for way too long, and the very fact that women are not in trials, that there's a disproportionate amount of money invested in certain research areas rather than others—it's women who lose out almost every time. That has got to be something that we address. It is a social justice issue, absolutely. In 2019, the Royal College of...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Of course.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Many thanks for allowing me to reply to this opposition debate around women's health, which I know most people in the Chamber are aware is an issue that I'm passionate about addressing, and it's great to see that there is absolute consensus on the issue, if not on the motion itself. Now, women, as we know, make up just over half of our population and account for 47...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Formally.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much. Well, I would agree with you, Carolyn, that I think that to think about reorganisation in the middle of the pandemic, when we have the longest waiting lists in history, would be a distraction. I think it's really important that we focus on what matters to people, and what they want is to be treated well and to make sure that they get seen in a very timely manner. I think...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much. Well, certainly we have seen massive pressure in Glan Clwyd, and it's one of the reasons why, as soon as I saw the first report, I made a beeline for the hospital and spent the day in the hospital, not just a quick visit, but I actually spent time with people on the front line in ED, just watching the kind of pressure they were under, and I can tell you that the pressure was...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much. Well, of course, Glan Clwyd, along with other accident and emergency departments, are seeing a massive increase in demand, some of which has come as a result of people not presenting themselves during the pandemic and now coming forward. But the situation in Glan Clwyd is worse than in other hospitals, which is why we do need to make sure we shine a light on Glan Clwyd—and...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I'm going to try and calm things down here a little bit, and let's try and get a little bit more constructive. Now, HIW have said exactly what needs to be done in this situation. They've said—they've listed what needs to be done. The response wasn't what it should have been when they went back in; now there has a been response from the health board. So, let me tell you what they are...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: If you think that restructuring is going to be the answer at this point in time—
