Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:44 pm on 1 May 2019.
This is an area in which we've actually changed measures, and the difference between measures and what happened in the service actually matters. We were measuring a referral-to-treatment target that didn't actually take account of the clinical priority of patients. So, we had a blunt measure that didn't take account of how the service should act to actually deal with the potential clinical harm. So, one of the things that I have done is that I have now worked with the service, together with the Royal National Institute of Blind People, and we have new measures in place that actually take account of clinical priority. So, some people will wait longer, but we will prioritise those people in the greatest need to avoid the prospect of people actually suffering avoidable sight loss. It's a deliberate choice that we've made, and I believe the health service and the people of Wales will be better off for it, and it enjoys the widespread support of both clinicians and the third sector.