8. Will the Minister confirm the number of occasions that ambulances have been kept waiting at hospitals in South Wales West for more than 10 minutes before being able to discharge their patient? OAQ53755

We don't collect data on the basis of a 10-minute wait before discharge. We have measures that start with a 15-minute period of time. But I expect all patients who arrive by ambulance at a hospital facility to be transferred to the care of hospital staff in order of clinical priority and in a timely manner to support positive patient outcomes and experience.

Thank you for that answer. Following a freedom of information request to the Welsh ambulance service, I was shocked to find that the average time that an ambulance waits outside Bridgend Princess of Wales Hospital before handover of the patient is one hour and five minutes above the target time that you have just described. This information also showed that the longest waiting times in the last three months—the longest one was a staggering 16 hours and 39 minutes above the target handover time, with the next longest being 14 hours, then 11 hours, and then 10 hours. To compare with that, the average at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital is just nine minutes over the target set for handovers. These hospitals are now in the same local health board area. The ambulance trust has been ring-fencing resources for this work in Cwm Taf since 2015, and you can see the difference. Have you asked the trust why this is not being rolled out everywhere?

It will be for the new Cwm Taf Morgannwg health board to ensure they're providing a consistent service across the whole footprint. This is one of the issues about a change in culture, practice and leadership and how it will affect all parts of the whole organisation, including the Bridgend portion that has been brought into the new Cwm Taf Morgannwg health board. So, I do expect to see further improvement. I expect further improvement in handovers and in understanding and listening to patients about their experience of what makes a difference with and for them. Because, plainly, the extremely long waits that you quote in your question are certainly not acceptable. 

Thank you, Minister.