1. Will the Minister make a statement on audiology waiting times in Hywel Dda University Health Board? OAQ(5)0055(HWS)

Audiology waiting times in Hywel Dda university health board are not where they should be. I have written to the Chair and made clear the need for improvement. I expect the health board to work with relevant stakeholders to make that improvement happen.

I’m extremely grateful to the Cabinet Secretary for his honesty on the dire situation at the moment. A number of constituents have been in contact with me to convey their concerns about the waiting list, which represents hundreds of people awaiting treatment. Some patients had to wait eight months before receiving a hearing aid. Has the Government carried out any assessment of the cause of these lengthy waiting times, and what measures can be put in place in order to ensure that there is improvement? Has the Government given any consideration—in addition to the target that they have set of 14 weeks for a first-time hearing aid—to setting a specific target for replacements, where there is a dire problem at the moment in terms of the waiting times?

I thank the Member for his follow-up questions, which I recognise. We think that, unfortunately, about 350 people in Hywel Dda wait too long, past the target time. So, we are aware that there is a definite problem within the Hywel Dda health board area. In terms of what’s caused that, there’s a combination of issues, as is almost always the case. Some of this is about short-term staffing measures—for example, there’s been a period of sickness and there’s been a period of maternity cover, as well, which has caused a challenge.

It’s also about getting the right staff mix as well for the future. So, within the conversation that’s being developed with the health board and stakeholders, they’re looking for audiology posts—so it isn’t all just about the consultant end of the workforce. The good news for yourself and other Members in Hywel Dda health board area is that there are going to be interviews taking place within the next month, and we expect that people will then start in the new year, which will help to address the backlog, both for the first appointment and the second or follow-up appointments that you mentioned as well. Part of the work we’re doing on the ENT plan is that we’re actually looking at how we have some sensible measures for understanding both first and second appointments, so there may be some changes that I think would be helpful, both in terms of scrutiny and the ability to understand what is going on. The other element is actually the building work that is taking place in Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli. That’s a cause of some of the challenge we have, but—the honest answer is—not all of it. So, we should now be in a better position to address the backlog, with the staff coming on board and the completion of those capital works as well.

Cabinet Secretary, you’ve just referred to the national ENT implementation plan, which was published earlier this year, and that plan announced that each health board would actually establish an ENT care collaborative group, to oversee issues such as appropriate patient streams and referral thresholds, which would help with reducing waiting times. In light of that plan, can you provide an update on the progress of the Hywel Dda ENT care collaborative group, and tell us what new outcomes have been delivered by the health board in the way it delivers ENT services for patients in west Wales, and can you tell us how this is helping to reduce waiting times?

As I’ve explained in the first series of answers, it’s actually about the fact that Hywel Dda aren’t where they need to be. Some of it is about short-term measures and some of it is about the longer-term planning and the engagement with stakeholders to make sure that they do have a local plan. They should also benefit from some of the national pilot work being undertaken in other health board areas, both in terms of the point about staff mix, but also about how the pathway is designed. So, I can’t say to you, or any Member—and I wouldn’t try to—that I expect all these issues to be resolved within a period of a few weeks. But I do expect that, before the end of this performance year, and going into the next one, that there’ll be a model of care that is more sustainable, where stakeholders themselves will have been involved in designing that, and in designing the measures to understand what success looks like, and I do then expect Hywel Dda to have a more sustainable delivery mechanism for citizens within west Wales. That should also then transfer into learning across the rest of the country too.