Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:46 pm on 13 December 2017.

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Photo of Rhun ap Iorwerth Rhun ap Iorwerth Plaid Cymru 2:46, 13 December 2017

I'm glad you're engaging on the issue of doctors today. It seemed, quite often recently, that you've wanted to direct me away from talking about doctors to talk about other parts of the health service, but we know that all health professionals within the health service are dependent on each other, and doctors are very important too.

I cannot emphasise too much, though, the need to come forward with definitive figures and a vision of how many doctors we need to train in Wales over the coming years. I've seen some figures recently that should frighten all of us here, really. The figures I saw suggested that, of all the young people in Wales who decide they want to go into medicine, 75 per cent of them end up working in the NHS in England. Now, apart from the fact that we need doctors and more doctors from Wales to stay in Wales, as well as recruiting from elsewhere, it is a frightening brain drain from Wales in general terms. These are bright young people who, for all sorts of reasons, we need to keep within our community. Will you not recognise that a decision is needed quickly, and a positive decision, on increasing the opportunities for young people to study medicine in Wales in order for us to try to address that brain drain?