Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:25 pm on 7 March 2017.
Can I welcome this statement, but also the remarks that the Cabinet Secretary made about the role of the ambulance service here and the quality of care they provide? And also, he will have seen that at his visit last week to Bryncethin ambulance station, and he could see the dedication and the professionalism of all of the people involved there in responding to the needs of the communities across the Glamorgan area. But could I push just a little bit more on this issue that has been raised by the Stroke Association, which Angela has just raised as well, about the one-hour standard for access to brain scanning? They do recognise the significant progress that has been made. They also recognise the collaborative efforts that have led to that progress. But the one thing that they are calling for at this time is—and they say attaining the one-hour standard for access to brain scanning should be adopted as the overall aim of all acute stroke services across Wales. It should be factored into all existing service improvement programmes, and it should be incorporated into the forthcoming configuration of hyperacute stroke services. So, I do understand that there are different ways to push at to get the improvements that we seek, and, in fact, the way that we’ve done it, this collaborative approach working across all partners, is what has delivered the benefits. But they’re very fixed on this particular issue.
Could I just, in closing, say if he wanted to discuss these issues more with the Stroke Association, and also not only the survivors but family and friends, he’s more than welcome any time to come along to take part with us, I think it’s 21 May this year, on Newbridge fields, where we have the largest Step Out for Stroke event in Wales, down there in Bridgend. It’s a tremendous testament, I have to say, to the work of the Stroke Association, but also to the survivors and their families, and it shows, as we should be saying, that there is indeed life after stroke.