Vascular Services

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:25 pm on 25 February 2020.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 2:25, 25 February 2020

(Translated)

Well, Llywydd, I don’t think that it is fair just to refer to the work of Betsi Cadwaladr as something that is just an internal review, because they will be using people outwith the board to advise on the work going forward. The consultation that they will be holding is with experts in the field, and they are independent of the board as well. That is why Professor John Brennan, who works in Liverpool and is a consultant vascular surgeon, is part of the process of reviewing the service, which has existed for less than 12 months currently. Also, in the work that Betsi Cadwaladr has commissioned, they will be using new national data that has emerged in order to compare the service currently available in north Wales—to compare what goes on in Betsi Cadwaladr with what goes on in other comparable services in other places within the United Kingdom. Nobody here has seen that report as yet, and I am willing to wait to see what that report says, to see what the independent compilers of this report have to say in it, and to see whether we need to do anything in addition to that.