Withybush Hospital

Part of 4. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:55 pm on 24 January 2018.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 3:55, 24 January 2018

I'll just deal with your point about beds and investment in health services. We're not just the numbers of money that we invest in the health service—[Inaudible.]the numbers of staff we have; we treat more people than ever before, more successfully than ever before and that includes in west Wales, just as with the rest of the country.

Our challenge is how we organise our services to deliver the greatest value, both in terms of value for money, but also in terms of the value that we deliver in terms of the quality of care and outcomes. And that really is going back to why we've had a review to see if we are on the right track and what more we need to do. I say, you can't get away from the fact that there have to be difficult choices made, otherwise, you'll come back to a further point in the future where the Government will be asked, 'Why didn't you do something about a part of the service that really has gone wrong?' I would much rather be in a position where we're having a debate about how difficult choices are made than not.

I just reiterate that there is no proposal to close Withybush hospital. There will be no proposals to consult on until the spring of this year, and it will be the health board that will be doing that. The health board needs to have that conversation with its clinicians and with the public and that is absolutely the right thing to do. Of course, the voice of the public will be an important factor; people will be listened to, but let's be clear, there are a range of different opinions about what could and should happen right across the health board area.

We saw representatives in Carmarthen, Llanelli and Withybush and in other parts of the health board having very, very different views on what the future could look like. We need to have a process that is fair, appropriate and meaningful and then there will be a decision made, and, of course, that is a decision that if the health board wish to make it, it could well end up being referred to me and end up on my desk and I'll accept the responsibility that goes with that.