4. Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services: Cwm Taf Maternity Services

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:51 pm on 9 October 2018.

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Photo of Dawn Bowden Dawn Bowden Labour 2:51, 9 October 2018

Can I thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for your statement, and can I also place on record my deepest sympathy and concern to anyone who's been affected by the situation in Cwm Taf health board? As you would expect, I've had long and detailed conversations with Cwm Taf health board about the situation there and how this came about. I was given no indication or impression that they were in any way downplaying the seriousness of what has happened there, but it does seem to me that, when a vital service has not performed as expected, as with the review of these adverse outcomes, we then need to do two key things to reassure the women using this service as well as the wider public. Firstly, we do, as you've already outlined, need to provide an independent means to examine the circumstances and to report any action points for further learning and improvements to ensure that there is confidence in the system. I would hope that your actions, in addition to those actions already taken by the health board in relation to the peer review that they're introducing, will deliver the necessary improvements that my constituents would expect in the service in the future. They would not be expecting anything less. 

Secondly, do you agree with me that we must make sure that we continue to encourage a culture where the health and care systems, especially in our health boards, are not in any way discouraged from identifying problems or issues themselves, as was the case in Cwm Taf when the health board itself identified the failures of its own process? We should always be signalling to the health boards and to staff that reporting their concerns, like with these adverse outcomes, is helpful to allow for a response by the wider health system where that is necessary. And just as importantly, while our response must be handled in a sensitive and robust manner, they should not be sensationalised or politicised, given the importance of the services that we're discussing and the need to provide reassurance.