Part of 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:54 pm on 19 September 2018.
Thank you, Llywydd. I’m very pleased, of course, that the intensive care department, the SuRNICC, has now opened at Glan Clwyd, and it would be good to be able to congratulate the Government on their vision in that regard. But, of course, the truth is that the Government and the health board, back in 2013, had approved the downgrading of intensive care services for newborn babies in north Wales. At that time, the plan was to move the service to Arrowe Park in the north-west of England. Now, it was only a powerful campaign from residents in north Wales that forced the Government to change direction. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate those campaigners on their determination and perseverance. Their campaign changed the minds of the health board and it changed the Government’s mind too, ensuring that a SuRNICC was developed as a centre for intensive care services in north Wales for the babies of the future. So, will you join with me in congratulating those campaigners on their success and to thank them for their untiring efforts?