Part of 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:42 pm on 23 May 2018.
Well, it's a very strange pitch that the Member makes, but I'm happy to say again: we have more registered nurses than ever before in the national health service in Wales. And your comments about overtime and bank arrangements—some people choose to undertake those arrangements. We also know some people are working together in a range of different circumstances. We have a range of measures in place to think about the accuracy and the efficiency of bank arrangements. We're taking on ideas put forward to us by the Royal College of Nursing on having an all-Wales bank. We're taking up the opportunities for e-rostering, because they are better arrangements for people who have their own needs about how they wish to live their lives, but also at meeting the needs of the health service. We are actively recruiting nurses. The 'Train. Work. Live.' campaign is actively going out and selling Wales successfully as a destination for people to come.
I'll tell you—I was in Belfast at the Royal College of Nursing congress, the only UK health Minister to be there with the Royal College of Nursing at their congress, and the welcome that we had, not just from nurses in Wales, but from right across the United Kingdom and Ireland, was significant. They recognised that, in Wales, we do value nurses, we are serious about recruiting and retaining nurses. They also recognised we're serious about promoting reform and making the very best use of people within the nursing family. You could not understate the enthusiasm of Welsh nurses for the environment they work in, their pride in the service, and the fact that they know they have a Government that is on their side. You would not find anything like the same feeling from nurses working in England.