3. What is the Welsh Government doing to improve the standards of care in health and social services across Wales? OAQ(5)0072(FM)

We demand the highest standards of care for the people of Wales. We have put in place rigorous outcome and standards frameworks, effective performance management arrangements, as well as robust regulation and inspection regimes, which drive service improvement and quality.

Thank you, First Minister. Following the recent publication of the fundamentals of care survey conducted in all hospitals across Wales, it was revealed that overall patient satisfaction with the NHS remains extremely high, with 98 per cent of patients documenting that they were made to feel safe and 99 per cent saying that they were treated with dignity and respect. These positive findings are welcome news and a testament to the high-quality work at the heart of the Welsh NHS, which was reiterated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development report earlier this year. Will the First Minister join me in welcoming these results, which demonstrate that Welsh Labour have not wavered in our efforts to confront the challenges that we face in the NHS? And would you agree with me that it is crucial that the Welsh Government continues to build upon this and remains committed to excellence in care across the Welsh NHS?

Well, can I thank the Member for that question? I fully agree: we do remain committed to excellent, high-quality care across Wales. As we’ve said before, the OECD report confirms that not one system across the UK is outperforming another. Whilst there was much to be satisfied with in that report, there is still work to do in some areas—that much is clear. We cannot be satisfied 100 per cent. We look to health boards to make sure that they fulfil their potential as organisations that can deliver the services that people expect.

First Minister, key aims in the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 are integrated consistency and co-operation in the delivery of services, yet the reality in Wales, here, is that there are 34 per cent of patients waiting well over six weeks for transfer home from an NHS bed. I know first-hand, from many casework issues arising, and indeed from recent personal experience, that the communication link between the health and social care practitioners is actually very poor and often leads to delays and a lack of provision of services for when people return home, often quite vulnerable. A joined-up approach in terms of occupational therapy, physiotherapy and district nurse care is essential, but very rarely available joined up. Through your three-year evaluation of this Act, how will you address these barriers in order to meet the pledges contained within your Government’s Act, to make it meaningful and relevant to those very people who desperately depend on it?

Well, we saw the level of delays reduce by 7.6 per cent in April, and a further 2.6 per cent fall was reported in May. The number of patients delayed in acute beds also fell in May: down 7 per cent on the previous month. There was a significant decrease in the number of patients waiting to leave mental health facilities: a 20 per cent decrease. Provisions in the Act—the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act, that is—will ensure far more collaborative working between health and social services, which I’m sure all parties want to see. The regional partnerships, led by health boards, will ensure that fewer and fewer people have to wait longer than they need before they can leave hospital.