Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:47 pm on 30 April 2019.
Minister, I've been in two minds all day as to whether to speak this afternoon, but I feel it would be wrong for me to sit here as someone who herself had really poor care from Cwm Taf health board when I had my first child and say nothing. I have largely tried to blot out my experiences in Prince Charles Hospital with my first baby, but suffice to say that the stories that I've read in these reports about mothers feeling ignored, not listened to, dehumanised and made to feel worthless are ones that I very much can relate to. Having read the reports today, I also feel even more lucky than I did 16 years ago that I came out of there with the lovely boy that I've still got today.
I do agree with Leanne that there is a very significant inverse care law at play here, because I simply don't believe that these cases wouldn't have come to light sooner in a more affluent area, and I hope that that is something that you will look at in response to what Leanne Wood said.
I also wanted to ask you about the cases pre 2010, which covers the period that I had care at Prince Charles Hospital, but will have also covered the experiences of many other mothers. I think that if we can take anything from this report it's that we have to hear the voices of those who have had poor care. So, I'd like to ask you, Minister, whether you are confident that the time frame you're operating within will actually pick up all the cases that you need to, especially in view of the fact that the health board has clearly tried to conceal some information from the Welsh Government. I think it's vital that, if necessary, we do go back and look even further back in time to make sure that all those voices are heard and that we can genuinely learn the lessons from those times.