2. Will the First Minister make a statement on end-of-life care in south-east Wales? (OAQ51053) 

Our £3 million investment in the new hospice in Malpas that opened last week demonstrates our commitment to end-of-life care in the south-east of Wales. The updated end-of-life care delivery plan, published in March 2017, also sets out the actions we are taking to deliver a collaborative approach to improving end-of-life care throughout Wales.

Thank you, First Minister. Last week, along with the Cabinet Secretary for health, I attended the launch of the new state-of-the-art in-patient unit at Malpas. The 15-bedded unit offers support for people with complex symptom-management needs and end-of-life care, and, as you mentioned, the investment of £3 million of Welsh Government money for the St David’s hospice is a good example of how to deliver first-class hospice care and helps to meet the demand of palliative care services in south-east Wales. So, will you join me, First Minister, in paying tribute to the vision of the board of directors at St David’s, particularly the chief executive, Emma Saysell, and the tremendous support of the local community and volunteers, and to show that investment from Welsh Government, in partnership with the health board and local authority, can make a real difference to the lives of people when they need it most?

Yes. It’s an excellent example of partnership working, because the investment has enabled the St David’s hospice care team to deliver a palliative care model that is universally recognised as being a good example of first-class care. Now that the new building is complete and open, the charity, of course, will now be able to support more people who need their help at the end of their lives, and I very much congratulate the charity itself for the work that it has put in to make sure that the opening came about.

First Minister, can I concur with Jayne Bryant’s comments, and also welcome the opening of the new hospice at Malpas? As chief executive, Emma Saysell, has said, this is a landmark development and will hopefully plug previously identified gaps in provision over the last few years, and I’m sure it will go from strength to strength.

You’ll know, First Minister, I frequently raise the issue of motor neurone disease in this Chamber and its devastating impact on sufferers, estimated at up to 5,000 across the UK at any one time. A key finding of the recent Demos report into the financial effect of MND on sufferers and their families has said that services can often be slow to respond to MND sufferers’ needs because of the rapidity of the progress of the disease. So, can you undertake to look again at the provision of services, including hospice and palliative care in Wales, to ensure that—yes, we’ve got a wonderful new building in Malpas, and that’s one part of the jigsaw—the services that are provided are able to keep pace with sufferers of complex diseases such as MND?

The Member raises an important issue. It was remiss of me not to congratulate him, of course, on his recent wedding, and his dedication in coming back here. I believe that was not a choice he faced, but, nevertheless, he is here. But my congratulations, obviously, to him and his new wife.

Motor neurone disease is a devastating illness. It is usually very progressive. Sometimes, it moves more quickly in some people than others. It’s difficult to predict the rapidity of the progress of the illness, but, unfortunately, of course, it’s known what the illness eventually does to the body. We want to work with the motor neurone disease charities in order to make sure that the level of care is right for the individual, because we know that it’s not possible to predict with any accuracy how the disease will progress in terms of its speed, and that is certainly something that we’ve been working with the motor neurone disease charities in order to achieve.