Part of 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 3:14 pm on 25 April 2018.
I can't answer all of that question, because otherwise I'm in danger of putting myself into a position of not being able to make a decision at the end of the consultation. What I would say about healthcare in every part of Wales is that every community in Wales deserves excellent healthcare, and I agree with you about every community deserving excellent healthcare. As ever, when we talk about the future of healthcare, in committees we talk about primary and community care needing to do more of our activity and more of our budget in primary community care, and then we spend all of our time arguing about the hospital network. What I would remind Members of is that when, in the Gwent area, they had their clinical futures strategy, it took them some time to build support from stakeholders and it took them time to develop a business case for a new hospital that was part of that. They delivered in a variety of areas and then we were able to get alongside them and deliver the new hospital that is being constructed at this moment in time as the Grange university hospital.
What I would say about every area of Wales, rather than any specific proposals, is that if there are proposals that are designed to deliver and there's clinical support and evidence that they will deliver a better healthcare system, then we will of course get alongside any and every organisation to try and help them do that, bearing in mind the ability of the Government to do so. So, yes, we will think positively about every area of Wales when real and significant proposals are made, but I just can't comment specifically on the potential for proposals in Hywel Dda, because it is entirely possible that I will have to determine those at a point in the not-too-distant future.