Part of 4. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:50 pm on 24 January 2018.
Thank you for the comments and for the points. I think it is important—and I have to put on record now—that there is certainly no plan to close Withybush hospital at any point in the immediate future. There is a challenge about what the future will be for any hospital. It's not about sending out faint praise for any site, because you could say the same about Glangwili and about Llanelli as well. And actually seeing the way it's been reported, of course whilst the Withybush issue has been taken up, understandably, by Pembrokeshire representatives, the long list that has been leaked also includes options around other hospital sites as well, so it's looking at a whole range of different configurations. That's why I'm saying there's a process the health board is running through. They'll come out with a shortlist in the spring on which there will be a meaningful consultation.
I'm very happy to reinforce that I really do expect there to be a meaningful consultation. Of course we've invested in the Withybush site. There is a range of services there that provide really good care for people. So, there are always challenges about how you have a sensible and meaningful conversation and how you respect and understand that some people will be anxious about the future, and some people will be looking for assurances, and some will be looking for definitives that, actually, any responsible Minister just can't give if we're going to make a serious choice about the future of the health service.
Following 80 different local events over the summer, I know the health board held a further 14 in the autumn, and there's more to come and more to do, but I expect clinical engagement in that debate with each other and in the debate with the public and a genuine and meaningful consultation for the public and the people of west Wales, and I expect the same sort of conversations to be taking place across the rest of the country as we try to remake the future of health and care in Wales fit for the future.