Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:37 pm on 1 November 2016.
In asking the Cabinet Secretary for further information today, I can say to him that the paediatric service in Withybush, which is valued enormously by the local people, goes beyond maternity and is, in fact, part of the accident and emergency service that is provided there. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine say that you need a 24-hour paediatric service in order to maintain an A&E service. And, in the past, his predecessor has told me that the long-term aim is to restore paediatrics to a 24-hour service in Withybush. Now, he seems content with a 10 in the morning until 10 at night service, which, in fact, is an office-hours service, with a 30-minute on-call for consultants up to 10 o’clock at night. And the statement from Hywel Dda today, which confirms that that will continue, also says that further merging of on-call rotas will take place between Withybush and Glangwili.
What, therefore, can the Cabinet Secretary say to local residents who actually want to see paediatrics return to 24 hours? Can they give up on that previous commitment by Hywel Dda itself, and a previous Government? And, if he thinks that it’s delivering so well at present—and, of course, the staff and those who are working there are doing the very best they can—but is he really content to see a service delivered on this basis, in perpetuity, on the basis of locum recruitment?