<p>The Tawel Fan Ward at Glan Clwyd Hospital </p>

Part of 3. 3. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 2:46 pm on 3 May 2017.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 2:46, 3 May 2017

I’m happy to respond to the middle point first in terms of what will happen. In terms of what will happen, we need to see what the report says first, to then understand what an appropriate response is, what response the health board should undertake and are there points for the Government to respond to as well.

I’m robustly confident there will be questions as a result of the report when it’s provided, and, of course, we’ll need to consider with the leader of the house about how Government business is used in terms of responding to that report when it’s provided and having a proper response that actually informs rather than simply adds more heat to public debate around this matter. It’s really important we take a step forward rather than have an exercise in launching more criticism onto individuals who are not here, but actually look at what happens, for the people who need the service at the highest level of quality within north Wales.

Finally, o the point about the timely manner of providing this report, for me, the most important point is that it is a robust and independent report. I personally would have much preferred it if this report was available several months ago. It would be much more convenient for me if that were the case. I cannot—well, I could, but I will not interfere with the timescale for this report. Otherwise, as I said earlier, it is no longer an independent report. It must not be a report that is done for the convenience of a Government politician. It must be a report that carries real independence, real rigour and real robustness with it. That means, unfortunately, it’s taken longer than any one of us in this room or the families affected would have wanted it to have done. But, the robustness and the independence of that report should not be compromised, and I will not do that.