Part of 3. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:34 pm on 29 January 2020.
I recognise the point that Members across parties are making, and I reiterate that the challenge here is to understand how we have a genuinely safe service that is available for constituents across the country, and what that means in terms of either trying to change a service model, where people regularly say that they're concerned about the safety of changing that model, but, equally, the challenge of trying to maintain a service model if you can't staff it and run it safely. And, in the changes since then, the executive medical director's report that the board will consider it tomorrow sets out a range of the factors that you referred to about the changing context in which healthcare has been delivered, about the changes in the way that the health board delivered certain services, and in the four options that are set out in that paper for the board to consider.
Now, again, it's not for me as a politician in this position to set out to change the operational evidence and understanding of what's happening, and it must be a proper engagement with the wider public and stakeholders, including yourselves and other elected representatives, about the differing factors that you will want to see the health board address. That includes the ability to recruit and retain staff on any of the proposed models, including the ability to try and retain that on the current model—the health board themselves say they don't think they can do—what that means to people, how people access care, and what care will be in place and still available on the Royal Glamorgan site. Those are all matters I expect the health board to set out in its consultation, and to set out transparently how it proposes to make those choices when it has to come back, given that the last substantive consultant will be leaving their post at the end of March. There is a real urgency to this, and this is not something that could or should be put off; I expect the health board to do its job properly, with the public and its staff, in providing an answer for the future.