Gareth Davies: Trefnydd, can I ask for a statement from the Minister for Health and Social Services this afternoon regarding support for armed services veterans in the healthcare system? I was contacted by a local resident from Rhyl over the weekend whose husband, sadly, nearly committed suicide, and, without being too graphic, he was nearly successful, unfortunately. He was since treated, but what was...
Gareth Davies: Diolch, Llywydd. And fair point, Jenny, and that’s why I hope that you’ll vote for our motion to take it to the Health and Social Care Committee where we can take evidence from the right people, and hopefully they’ll echo our same words. Janet Finch-Saunders mentioned some stats in north Wales, in particular on older patients in her constituency of Aberconwy, and, as a former employee...
Gareth Davies: Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llywydd. It’s a pleasure to take part in this debate this afternoon and to, indeed, close the debate. I’m quite passionate about strokes, really, because it was what I did for a living before I was elected to the Senedd. We speak about some of the most well-known symptoms of stroke. It can include slurred speech, losing strength on one side of the body; they’re the...
Gareth Davies: Thank you very much for that answer, Minister. I'm sure you're more than aware of the risks bird flu poses, and I welcome the action from the Welsh Government to stop the spread by imposing the 10 km surveillance zone around the infected premises. As we saw with COVID, immediate and tough action early on can ensure that the problem does not get worse, and I call on the Welsh Government to...
Gareth Davies: 2. What is the Welsh Government's plan to reduce the risk of bird flu cases in Denbighshire? OQ58600
Gareth Davies: Could I ask for an urgent statement from the health Minister this afternoon on waiting times in Glan Clwyd hospital in Bodelwyddan, as I have been contacted overnight by Chelsea Clark from Meliden, whose grandmother has been sat in A&E for 35 hours—35 hours in a dirty corridor with a blood clot in her leg, pneumonia, and has previously had sepsis and meningitis, which has caused kidney...
Gareth Davies: Thank you. So that we can dispel the myth that the council can't be bothered to cut the lawn and give my constituents assurances that next summer will be more effective than this one.
Gareth Davies: Thank you for that response, First Minister, and the reason I ask the question this afternoon is that I've been contacted by many residents from the Nant Close area of Rhuddlan, and from the coastal areas of Rhyl and Prestatyn over the summer, who are very concerned about some of the uses of wildflower meadows in built-up residential areas. Now, I can certainly see the benefit of wildflower...
Gareth Davies: 4. What assessment has the Minister made of the impact of wildflower meadows on wildlife in Denbighshire? OQ58599
Gareth Davies: I'd like to thank the Chair of the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee, Mark Isherwood, members of the committee and staff for conducting an inquiry into care home commissioning in response to the publication of the commissioner's report back in December 2021. Care homes across Wales require high levels of staffing and dedicated staff to provide the best possible care to...
Gareth Davies: Enough is enough. Residents in Trefnant and Tremeirchion have had enough, Trefnydd. The bridge was destroyed during storm Christoph in 2021, and on Saturday residents of Trefnant and Tremeirchion protested at why the bridge is taking so long to be fixed. I have raised this issue with you and Denbighshire County Council on several occasions, and the blame seems to be being passed from one...
Gareth Davies: Will the Minister take an intervention?
Gareth Davies: Thank you for that. It's not just carers I was talking about, it's social care staff pay, which are completely different things. And I do understand the complexities in social care compared to healthcare, because 99.9 per cent of healthcare services fall within the NHS, whereas in social care, it's fragmented and it's public sector, local authority and private sector. And I do understand...
Gareth Davies: It's a pleasure to take part in this debate this afternoon, and of course as a member of the Health and Social Care Committee, I've seen first-hand evidence from witnesses who are placed in the best position to commentate on the current state of hospital discharges across Wales. After hearing cases by multiple people across Wales, it's clear that this is an issue that the Government must take...
Gareth Davies: I'm afraid to say that this Welsh Labour Government's deliverance of social policy on children and young people in Wales is a classic case of the Government pandering to the woke warriors of this world, unfortunately. [Interruption.] And where you may not like to hear this, Minister, but this is the reality, sadly. Who are the state to dictate to children what's best for them? It's not yours,...
Gareth Davies: Thank you, Llywydd. It's not yours, it's not mine, or anyone's business other than the parents. They should be deciding what sort of education their child receives and whether they want to engage with sex education, and not you, Minister. How on earth do you expect children as young as five to even understand or begin to comprehend this sort of information? Parents the length and breadth of...
Gareth Davies: Thank you very much for your statement this afternoon, Deputy Minister. However, it is disappointing that this is not an annual report. While the willingness and enthusiasm is there from the Deputy Minister to improve mental health services, the Senedd needs to be able to analyse progress through clear reporting, rather than just a statement. 'Together for Mental Health' in its decade tenure...
Gareth Davies: I’d like to start by declaring an interest as a full member of Rhyl and District Rugby Football Club. I’d like to thank my colleague Sam Rowlands for tabling and discussing this important subject today. It’s quite right that we should be doing all we can to get people into exercise and sport, as it increases their physical and mental resilience, and is something we should all aspire to...
Gareth Davies: Diolch, Deputy Llywydd. The annual Denbigh Plum Feast, which takes place on the first Saturday of October, was held last weekend to coincide with the plum's ripeness at this time of year. The Denbigh plum is the only native plum in Wales, dating back to the 1700s, and the event, which takes place at Denbigh town hall every year, is an opportunity for local producers and businesses to show off...
Gareth Davies: Yes, these are Wales-only figures, because I'm just going to mention now that, in Merthyr Tydfil, less than two thirds of women took their screening test, which I think is shocking but not surprising, to say the least, when many women have said that the main barrier was working their tests around employment and, as Russell George mentioned in opening the debate, it's women in a situation of...
