Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:36 pm on 4 February 2020.
Trefnydd, can I call for two statements today—the first from the Minister for Health and Social Services, in relation to the NHS redress system? I'm having increasing problems getting responses, in a timely fashion, to concerns that I'm raising on behalf of my constituents in north Wales, with the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. I've got a very tragic case at the moment, of a woman who, unfortunately, passed away last year. Concerns were raised with the health board in July, and I'm still waiting for a substantive response. I think we'd all agree that it's not satisfactory for a family to have to wait that long for a substantive reply. And I know that that's not the ambition that this Government has in terms of the way that these sorts of things are dealt with. And I think it would be useful to understand how the Welsh Government makes sure that the redress system is working effectively for patients across north Wales, and indeed the whole of the country. And I'm sure that there are some performance indicators that might be usefully applied.
Can I also call for a statement from the Minister for Economy and Transport on the railway network safety system? You will know that Network Rail have a programme to eliminate level crossings across the whole of the United Kingdom. And, unfortunately, we've got level crossings here in Wales, some of which are very, very dangerous. There was a tragedy in my own constituency last year, where a teacher—Stephanie Brettle, from Ysgol Emrys ap Iwan, my former school—was unfortunately killed when she was hit by a train at the Ty Gwyn crossing in Tywyn, on the north Wales coast. Within just a few months of that tragic incident, another lady was killed on the same particular crossing. Now, I appreciate that the Welsh Government isn't directly responsible for the rail infrastructure, or for improving those crossings, but I do think that a Welsh rail safety fund, perhaps, could be established, in order to get a greater sense of priority for these crossings in Wales, where we know that there have been these sorts of tragic incidents. And I would welcome a statement on whatever the Welsh Government can do, in order to enhance the work of Network Rail in eliminating level crossings in Wales over a period. Thank you.