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

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:35 pm on 30 April 2019.

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Photo of Leanne Wood Leanne Wood Plaid Cymru 4:35, 30 April 2019

I attended the briefing this morning on this, and there wasn't enough time for me to ask questions there on behalf of my constituents in the Rhondda, so I hope I will be afforded the time now, Llywydd.

It's good to have an apology from the health Minister, and, I have to say, when I first read this report, which refers to a culture of people's concerns being dismissed, I immediately thought that this could also apply to the health Minister. I have lost count as to how many times I have raised on the floor of this Chamber, with both the health Minister and the First Minister, my concerns about staffing shortages and complaints in my local health board area. I have to say, most of the time, these concerns have been dismissed, or at least not taken seriously. Yes, the health board has to do better on a whole range of areas, but Minister, so do you.

It's not good to read that 67 stillbirths, going back to 2010, were not properly reported, and it's appalling to read how some patients just weren't listened to. I wonder how much of a problem this would have been in a more affluent area. Poorer people's views are often easily dismissed across a whole range of public services. So often do I hear about people being treated differently to how those from middle-class backgrounds would have been treated—people who may have gone to university and know very well how to demand their rights. This principle is known as the inverse care law, and it's been recognised and acknowledged by the medical profession. Minister, will you agree to look to see if this has been an issue in this instance? Please feed back to us.

These are my further questions. Will you agree to look seriously at every complaint and every serious case that has not been dealt with satisfactorily? Given that this report talks about a problematic culture, a punitive culture with regards to complaints, I strongly suspect—and my case files back this up—that failing to deal with complaints is a much wider problem. Do you agree with that point, and can you tell us exactly what you are going to do about it? Because I didn't hear anything specific in your statement addressing that point of culture. I welcome the fact that you are going to look into other departments. What messages can you give to worried parents-to-be, like the constituent of mine who is due to have her fifth baby and has seen the services decline over many years, and now is very worried about the care she is likely to get? Can she opt to go somewhere else, for example? Will you agree to closely monitor the situation at Prince Charles Hospital? I've had contact with many former Royal Glamorgan patients who are not happy with what they've experienced in Prince Charles Hospital over the last six weeks or so.

We in Plaid Cymru campaigned from 2013 against moving and centralising these maternity services, and we've campaigned against the moving of the children's services, which are due to move this summer. Doctors have told me their concerns about all of this as well, one telling me of their belief, and I quote, that mothers and babies will die. This report confirms that staff agree with us about centralisation, and have been prevented from speaking up. Will you listen to the staff that say that this centralisation is risky? Will you now listen to what patients are saying on this, and will you agree to monitor and work to reinstate those services at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital if the situation continues to be a risk and people continue to report problems?