1. How is the Welsh Government improving access to health services in Montgomeryshire? OAQ(5)0111(FM)

We continue to work with the health board and other partners in Wales to take a range of actions to improve access to healthcare services that are safe and sustainable and as close to people’s homes as possible.

Thank you. I welcome that answer in that case, First Minister. You may be aware that stroke patients in mid Wales are no longer able to access special treatment from the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital following a reconfiguration of services, which has resulted in services moving further away to the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford. Can I ask you what discussions your Government has had with the UK Government, and with Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, to press the case for specialist services to be retained in Shropshire? And, can I also ask you what your Government is doing to ensure that mid Wales stroke patients have adequate access to this specialist service?

I’m aware, of course, of the proposals. We expect, as a Government, that the relevant stakeholders on our side of the border are involved in any potential changes. I know Powys Teaching Local Health Board has been very involved in representing the concerns of residents, and I understand there will be further work taking place for final options to be subject to formal consultation later this year.

First Minister, I met recently with Newtown health forum, who told me that between the hours of six o’clock and 12 o’clock at night in Newtown, there is no GP or primary care service at all. The GP surgery closes at six o’clock, and it’s hard enough to get an appointment there, and the GP Shropdoc, run from the Newtown Hospital, starts at midnight. Between six and 12, people in Newtown have to travel to Welshpool in order to access GP services. Do you think that’s a sufficient service for GP services in Newtown?

I know that the health board is looking at the situation, and I know that filling that gap is important to them. For example, if we look at the minor injuries unit at Newtown, the health board will be starting a process to develop a long-term health and care strategy for Powys during 2016, and the health board will be reviewing MIU services across Powys as part of its work on unscheduled care services in order to make sure that any gap that exists is plugged.