Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 3:01 pm on 12 February 2020.
Minister, I'm sure that one of your priorities for the west Wales health service will be in response to the latest eye care measures data, which shows that only 60.6 per cent of patients are being seen within the target date at Hywel Dda University Health Board. This figure has dropped by nearly 7 per cent since April last year, when 67.5 per cent of patients were seen within the target time, so it's clear that intervention is now needed to ensure that these figures do not continue to decline. Can you, therefore, tell us what immediate steps the Welsh Government will be taking to address this issue, and can you also tell us how the Welsh Government will futureproof ophthalmic services so that enough ophthalmic staff are available to prevent long waiting lists and irreversible harm in the future?