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

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:03 pm on 30 April 2019.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 4:03, 30 April 2019

Thank you for the series of questions that I'll now try to run through. I'll try and deal with those matters that are broader and then some of the specific points that you've made. 

The matter in terms of regulators: ordinarily, you would expect referrals to be made by the employer, and I actually think it'll come back to some of the work that the independent oversight panel will do to identify what had happened in the 43 cases, and a broader look back to see if referrals are required, but we have ensured that the reports have been directly shared with both regulators, the GMC and the NMC, and referrals should be made as appropriate. But it's not for me to determine that individual referrals should be made, but I am trying to ensure that we do have a level of understanding to know whether that should be the case. 

In terms of community health councils, we actually have proposals to enhance the voice of the citizen across health and social care and reforming the way that they work, and that broader role across our continually more integrated health and social care system. I think those new proposals are outside the scope of this report, but with the current way that community health councils are constituted, of course they have a role in supporting people in making their complaints, and in the information we've put out today, we've been clear that community health councils are there to support families to do so. 

Coming onto your broader point about staff numbers, there are two distinct points, I think, to make here. One is that, on midwifery numbers, it's clear that there were not enough midwives within the service, and there's a challenge about when the health board itself recognised that it was not Birthrate Plus compliant, and that, of course, is the tool that is used to understand the right number of midwives to deliver the service.