Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:14 pm on 13 September 2016.
First Minister, I met last Thursday with Gary Doherty, the chief executive of the Betsi Cadwaladr health board, and he confirmed to me that the biggest challenge that he has in north Wales is the recruitment and retention of doctors, GPs, and also nurses. One of the things that we discussed was the possibility of training Welsh-speaking medical staff in Ysbyty Gwynedd and also attached to Bangor University. Do you agree that this is a good idea, that this would be a way for us to encourage more people to study in Wales and to stay in Wales, but also to help with the dearth, the problem that we have of Welsh-speaking professionals in the health service? Would you be willing to speak with Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas, who is the chancellor of Bangor University, and also speak with Gary Doherty, who agreed with me that this was a good idea?