Unfortunately, deep concerns still exist today about health inequalities and the disproportionate numbers of potentially avoidable deaths of people with a learning disability. I'm sure that many of us can reflect upon a constituent's case that highlights these concerns. It's something that worries me deeply, in that, here we are, in 2019, still having to address such inequality being experienced by people with learning disabilities.

Our health and care system needs to do much more to give people with learning disabilities the good-quality health and social care that they ought to expect as a right. People with a learning disability can experience hospitalisation, life-threatening illnesses and even premature death when unable to access health services for even the most routine conditions or ailments. It remains a stark fact that people with learning disabilities die on average 20 years earlier than the general population and that they continue to experience significant disparities in the quality of care and support they receive, as well as the outcomes they can expect. This is unacceptable in a twenty-first century Wales.

Llywydd dros dro, as we've already heard, one particular case that we should be aware of is that of Paul Ridd, who lived in Baglan, in my constituency, whose life may have ended in 2009, but whose story lives on and is key to this call for mandatory training for all health and care workers in every health and care setting. Paul's sister is in the gallery today, and she, along with her brother, decided to take action following their loss of Paul to address the fact that the lack of training and ignorance of his needs were considered as contributory factors in his death. And as already pointed out by the Chair of the committee, they established the Paul Ridd Foundation and have campaigned tirelessly for improvement in awareness and understanding by hospital staff of the needs of individuals with learning disabilities, so that they can provide a level of care no different from that of other patients. They have produced training material, created a traffic-light system, logos, which will be used on patients' records, hospital passports, and a pathway care bundle, working with professionals. Those logos are not new—we've seen them with dementia patients: the butterfly logo. They're already in existence for other conditions. This is nothing new in reality, but it's ensuring that it addresses the needs of people with learning disabilities.

Now, the pathway care bundle was launched in 2016 in Morriston Hospital and I was privileged to attend that launch. It sets out seven key steps—key steps, which, if followed, will ensure that all patients with learning disabilities will experience the level of care that we expect for all patients and for our loved ones if they attend hospital. And I was pleased that ABMU—as it was then, Swansea Bay as it is now—drew up a comprehensive programme of learning disability awareness training for key nursing and clinical staff, which included appropriate recognition of the role of family—and that's crucial here—carers and advocates in providing vital information to staff, helping to make prudent decisions about care. And Paul's family have been pivotal in ensuring this has been rolled out, and I congratulate them on their part in this.

However, as has been pointed out, learning disability training is not mandatory, and if it does take place, I've been made aware that it generally forms part of an induction session. What I don't know is: was that half an hour, 10 minutes? Who knows? It's very simple to say it's in the induction, but it's actually, 'What does the training entail?' That's crucial. Now, is this acceptable? No. It's not acceptable. Learning disability training should be mandatory and more. It should be refreshed, not on a one-off but on a regular basis. So, all staff—and I use the words 'all staff'—working in the hospitals need to have the correct training to ensure a smooth experience for patients with learning disabilities and their families. It must not be, as my colleague pointed out, e-learning-based or even classroom-based, it must be interactive with individuals and use the collaboration of organisations that work with people with learning disabilities in that process. And as I said, all staff, from the point at which they enter the healthcare system—whether it's a receptionist in a doctor's surgery, a receptionist in a hospital, or the nurse in an A&E unit—from that point they enter to whomever they meet in that journey through that system, they need that training. Different levels of training, I understand, but everyone needs to understand that training so that patients entering our hospitals are treated with the dignity and respect we would expect for everybody. And it is a challenge, but it's a challenge we must meet.

Now, in this Chamber, we should be determined that everybody who has a learning disability receives the high-quality care that meets their needs and their expectations, and which results in positive outcomes for that individual. In life, like many others, Paul had a right to be listened to and their needs understood, but tragically, this was not always the case. We owe it to their memory that people with learning disabilities are supported to live healthy and happy lives. They deserve nothing less.

We must deliver a system that ensures that patients and service users receive safe, effective and dignified care, and that those who provide care have the knowledge, skills and behaviours to support people with learning disabilities. I am aware that England yesterday announced they will actually be doing the mandatory training. I hope, therefore, that Wales will follow suit and ensure that training is training and not simply a half-hour exercise so it can be a tick box.