5. What is the Minister doing to deliver high quality health services in Torfaen? OAQ(5)0049(HWS)

Thank you for the question. The Welsh Government continues to work with the Aneurin Bevan university health board and other partners to provide the people of Torfaen with high-quality health services that deliver the best possible outcomes for the people of Torfaen.

I’m grateful to you, Cabinet Secretary, for meeting with me on numerous occasions since your appointment to discuss the specialist critical care centre planned for Cwmbran. However, the fact remains that the business case for the hospital has been in with Welsh Government now for a year, and you are now the fourth Minister charged with making a decision on what is a crucial development, not just for my constituents in Torfaen, but for the whole of Gwent. Indeed, as you know, the development is a fundamental part of the south Wales plan. When I asked you about this in health committee recently, you indicated that you expected to receive advice and to update Members by half term recess, yet yesterday the First Minister said that a decision was expected by the end of this year. My constituents now have been promised a new hospital for more than a decade. When can we expect a final decision on this?

I thank the Member for the question, and I do recognise that she has persistently and consistently raised this issue in this Chamber for more than one term, as well as in the meetings that I have been happy to have with you and a range of other Gwent constituency members who have taken up the issue with you. I said in health committee that I recognise there is a need for certainty, that I recognised the time that it has taken to get to this point and that I am the fourth health Minister who has had this issue presented to them to try and make some sort of decision. I am keen to provide certainty and I have stuck to the timetable that I indicated in committee: within this half of this term, I expect to receive advice to allow me to make a decision. I recognise this isn’t just a Gwent issue, but it is part of the south Wales programme. So, I have to understand what impact this will have, not just on localised healthcare for constituents living in Gwent, but what impact it will have upon the broader range of services that we need to have right across south Wales, to make sure that our healthcare services are fit for the future. I recognise the impact locally, regionally and nationally. I’m determined to stick to that timescale and to give you and other Members the confidence that this has not been hit into the long grass. This is something that is very much at the forefront of my mind, and I expect to keep to the timescale that I’ve indicated to you in committee that, by the end of this month, I should have advice and I shall make a decision.

A report last year by leading Welsh mental health and wellbeing charity Gofal found that 59 per cent of respondents judged access to statutory alcohol services in Torfaen as average, poor or very poor. Does the Cabinet Secretary share my concern at these results, and will he agree that we need to review these treatment services to see what can be done to improve them in Torfaen and South Wales East?

It’s important to understand the views of people who use a service, both in terms of what works and what doesn’t work as well; it’s an important part of service improvement. So, we do need to listen to the voice of the service user to understand what doesn’t work. You grouped together those people who found that the service was average, as well as less than average too. So, I wouldn’t quite think that the initial percentage figure is a fair reflection of the quality of the service, but I would expect the health board and their partners—because much of this delivery takes place with third sector partners—to look critically at the voice of the user and understand what they will need to do to work with the user to understand how they can improve the service.