Part of 3. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:31 pm on 29 January 2020.
Well, thank you for the questions, but the truth is, if you've read through the paper from the executive medical director about the challenges they face, he sets out that, if anything, the reasons and the rationale behind the programme have grown in number as opposed to receded. And I just don't accept that every indicator suggests that changing the footprint of services at this hospital will have the dire consequences that you've set out—far from it. The executive medical director sets out the need and the rationale to address the issue.
Now, we're not talking about your view or my view as a politician. We're talking about the executive medical director with direct responsibility on the ground, and the ability for him and the whole team within that health board to do the right thing and to make choices based on the right service, and to provide the right quality and the safety of that service. And I think that, for politicians here, whether in my seat or any other, to try to demand that the health board continues running a service, where they are very clear that the safety of that service will be compromised if they don't make changes, is exactly the wrong thing to do.