Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:08 pm on 1 May 2018.
I'm grateful to the leader of the house for that reply. She may know that I've raised the provision of health service facilities in the Welsh uplands, based on Blaenau Ffestiniog, in the Assembly on many occasions. The cottage hospital there was closed some years ago and has recently been replaced by a new office building—plenty of desks, but no beds. There is a continuing problem with GP recruitment, of course, and retention, and in other ways as well.
There is significant dissatisfaction amongst local people in Blaenau Ffestiniog and the surrounding area, and they recently submitted a petition to the Assembly to call for an independent inquiry into the provision of health services in the Welsh uplands. Tonight, there is a meeting of people from Blaenau Ffestiniog and Dolwyddelan to consider the possibility of taking legal action to compel an independent inquiry. I wonder whether the Welsh Government would see it as advantageous to facilitate an independent inquiry, because it couldn't possibly prejudice the provision of health service facilities in the area, but it could do a great deal to alleviate public concern.