Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:45 pm on 8 October 2019.
Well, let me help you, First Minister. Over the last four years, the number of operations cancelled by Welsh health boards has increased by 7 per cent, with an incredible 170,000 operations having been cancelled since 2015 at no fault of patients. The Wales Audit Office has stated that each minute of surgery costs £14. We are therefore looking at tens of millions of pounds wasted in cancelled operations, which our Welsh NHS desperately needs. Now, despite being under direct control by your Government, First Minister, the health board that saw the largest increase in 2015, was, in fact, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, which saw a 31 per cent increase in cancelled operations. That is a damning verdict of you and your Government, as you are in direct control of that health board. What is your Government specifically doing about reducing cancelled operations, First Minister?