Part of 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:30 pm on 19 September 2018.
I recognise the point you're making, and we've had several discussions outside the Chamber about issues in ABMU and I know you've been engaged directly with the health board. In terms of the health boards discharging their responsibilities on this issue, they of course need to have a plan about the appropriate number of beds in the appropriate part of the system and the staff to go with them. And, here, the health board said that they had improved services so they didn't need beds in one part of the system so they could appropriately treat and look after people throughout the wider health and care system. I actually think that the biggest limiting step in actually having bed numbers in different parts of our service is about actually having the appropriate staff to deliver the services in them. But I'm clear about the processes the health boards must go through about needing to have evidence of the impact and the benefit to be delivered by changing bed numbers and what that means in terms of the staff and the service provision and, crucially, of course, the quality of care that people are provided. We have lots of good examples in 'A Healthier Wales' of where we do need to see a shift in our system to move people out of hospital care more quickly. That means different capacity within social care as well. So, I will look again at the experience of ABMU, and I'm sure you'll take the opportunity to talk to me about it as well to make sure they do get this right in the future as well.