Questions Without Notice from the Party Leaders

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:43 pm on 13 March 2018.

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Photo of Carwyn Jones Carwyn Jones Labour 1:43, 13 March 2018

Well, I can say to the leader of the opposition that more registered nurses are working in the NHS than ever before. For example, since 2014, the number of nurse training places commissioned has risen by 68 per cent. That, alongside our international recruitment campaign, demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that the NHS continues to have a high-quality workforce. We are aware of cases where nurses have left the profession. The reasons around that are varied and complex. Numbers will fluctuate year on year, but we know that, as I said, there are more registered nurses than ever. We are investing this year £107 million in education and training programmes for healthcare professionals. That has resulted in a 10 per cent increase in commissioned nurse training places over the course of the last year.

So, the nurses are there, but I think we have to understand that, of course, when it comes to A&E admissions, A&E admissions are affected indirectly by delayed transfers of care, for example. Where people are unable to leave a hospital when they are ready to do so and therefore able to—I put it in a way that's perhaps harsh—vacate a bed, that, of course, means that pressure is relieved all the way through the system to the very front of the hospital in A&E. So, it is hugely important to recruit healthcare professionals—I've illustrated how we're planning to do that—but also to focus on moving people through the hospital when they're ready, and out of hospital when they're ready, in order to make sure that there is space available for others who need those beds.