The Performance of the Welsh NHS During His Time in Office

1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd on 4 December 2018.

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Photo of Darren Millar Darren Millar Conservative

(Translated)

8. Will the First Minister make a statement on the performance of the Welsh NHS during his time in office? OAQ53031

Photo of Julie James Julie James Labour 2:13, 4 December 2018

Yes. We have focused on the NHS as a priority at a time of austerity impacting on public services. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development report, 'Reviews of Health Care Quality: United Kingdom 2016', found quality at the heart of the Welsh health system and highlighted that we prioritise high-quality and patient-centred care.

Photo of Darren Millar Darren Millar Conservative

Leader of the house, many people will disagree with the statement that this particular Government has given sufficient priority to the national health service. Under the leadership of this particular First Minister, the number of individuals that are waiting longer than 36 weeks to receive treatment has increased from zero back in 2009 to 13,500. In that period, the four-hour target for emergency departments has never, ever been met, and the 12-hour target, the number of patients who are breaking that has increased by over 4,000 per cent.

This is not a record of which to be proud and, alongside that, the fact that this is a First Minister who has been the only First Minister or only leader of a Government anywhere in the UK to cut a health service budget is a lamentable performance. Can you, as the leader of the house, assure us that in the next First Minister's in-tray, there will be a note asking for investment in our NHS, not this sort of performance that we've seen in the past? 

Photo of Julie James Julie James Labour 2:14, 4 December 2018

Well, I think that the Conservatives' ability to divorce their support for an austerity driven political choice at UK level from the effect on the budgets of the Welsh Government is absolutely extraordinary. Llywydd, in terms of our record on the NHS, we continue to see very high reported levels of satisfaction with the Welsh NHS. Our last fundamentals of care survey, for example, showed that 99 per cent of patients felt they were treated with dignity and respect, and 96 per cent were satisfied with the overall care they received. Ninety-three per cent of patients rated their overall care positively in the 2016 cancer patient experience survey, for example.

One of the most crucial outcomes when diagnosed with cancer is survival, and I for one am one of the people who have survived. I've just had my letter saying that I'm five years free of cancer. I'm extremely grateful to the doctors and nurses who worked with me, two of whom were not born in the United Kingdom, and I'm extremely grateful that they chose to come and live and work in Wales. I owe my continued survival to them. I'm pleased to note the continued improvements in one and five-year survival for all cancer patients in Wales. We're very proud of that, and rightly so.

We're leading the way internationally with the Welsh ambulance clinical response model. Ambulance services in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Australia and Canada have now replicated the clinical response model approach pioneered here in Wales. More people are starting the treatment they need within the target time. Over 86 per cent of patients have been waiting less than 26 weeks for treatment in September 2018—3.2 percentage points higher than in September 2017, for example. The number of patients waiting over 36 weeks on an RTT pathway was 31 per cent lower in September 2018, compared to September 2017, and 52 per cent lower than the high of August 2015. On its own measures, England is reporting its worst waiting time on record—18 weeks' performance in England in September 2018 was the worst on record.

Over the last three years, we've invested an additional £130 million, we've significantly cut waiting times across the country, we continue to lower our delayed transfers of care figures—they're lower than the historical levels ever seen in Wales—we've prioritised health spending to ensure the NHS in Wales and the wider care system have the resources necessary, while planning for a long-term and sustainable future. Investment in the NHS in Wales is at a record high. We spend more per head on health than England, with more staff than ever before providing high-quality healthcare across all parts of the NHS. Over the last year, more than 1 million patients attended accident and emergency departments across Wales. Despite pressures in October, eight out of 10 patients had been assessed, treated and discharged from A&E departments within four hours. The typical waiting time in October was two hours and 18 minutes from arrival until admission, transfer or discharge. 

Llywydd, I think we have every right to be very proud both of our First Minister's record and of our record as a Welsh Labour Government here in the last nine years, and I look forward to the future Government with great pleasure. 

Photo of David Lloyd David Lloyd Plaid Cymru 2:17, 4 December 2018

With one health board in special measures and three health boards, including Abertawe Bro Morgannwg in my own region, in targeted intervention, the picture is not rosy, however. Despite talk of moving care into the community and of prudent healthcare over the past 10 years, do you not agree that your Government's workforce planning over the past 10 years has simply not been up to scratch?

Photo of Julie James Julie James Labour

No, I don't agree with that at all. I think that there's been a strong focus on recruitment and planning. Llywydd, I won't test your patience by reading out statistics yet again, but the statistics are plain for all to see. We are clearly doing very well indeed We've done extremely well with the recruitment of doctors, for example, this year. The health Secretary has made many statements to that effect and answered questions to that effect in the house on many occasions.