7. Will the Cabinet Secretary outline the Welsh Government's plans for improving emergency care in Wales? OAQ51258

We remain committed to improving emergency health services across Wales. I have made clear to health boards my expectation for improved performance, particularly as we approach the winter period. I have, of course, made a statement about preparations for the forthcoming winter today to coincide with the launch of this winter's Choose Well campaign.

I'm afraid your statement, Cabinet Secretary, is woefully inadequate, because the one health board that you are directly responsible for is the worst-performing health board in terms of its emergency care and its performance against the Welsh Government's own four-hour emergency target. In fact, my local hospital, Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, is the worst-performing hospital in Wales against that target, with just over 66 per cent of patients actually getting in and out of that particular emergency department within four hours. If you need to show leadership, and I believe that you do, you need to put your own house in order in the Betsi Cadwaladr University Local Health Board. 

We recognise that the performance in some parts of our system is not acceptable. We've actually invested a significant amount of capital in providing a new A&E unit within Glan Clwyd. And there's a challenge for us about understanding not just the nature of demand, but also what we need to do outside of hospital with our social care system and the clinical leadership that needs to exist within each of those areas and across the health board.

This is the challenge that has been set for that health board. They understand very well the challenge. They understand that I do not find their current performance acceptable. I have met directly with the chair and the chief executive to reiterate my expectation that the unacceptable performance will not continue. And the challenge—[Interruption.] And the challenge for all of us is what answers we can put in place and understanding why a more successful picture is painted in different parts of the country with broadly the same conditions.

What we're trying to do with the Royal College of Emergency Medicine—of course, the current vice-president of Wales is based within Wrexham—is to understand whether can we get through this winter with a sustained improvement in performance, because, actually, within north Wales what we see is a regular going up and down; there isn't a consistent picture of performance and improvement.

What gives me encouragement about north Wales and its ability to get into a different place in the future is not simply the commitments that have been given to me within the health board, but actually the fact that the ABMU health board has seen a significant improvement itself that has been sustained in the second half of this year. But I don't pretend it is as it should be. I don't pretend it's acceptable, and I expect to face more questions in this place until performance does improve and is sustained.