Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:00 pm on 6 October 2020.
First Minister, I can't emphasise enough that behind the Welsh Government's figures are real people desperately waiting for treatments and surgeries. Even in areas that are not in lockdown measures, like Pembrokeshire, there are examples of extortionately long waits for treatment; for example, last week, I highlighted an 81-week wait for dental treatment for an 11-year-old autistic child in my constituency. I've also been contacted by a couple desperate to resume their fertility treatments and waiting for news on when their family-planning journey can resume. People right across Wales, from north to south, are still waiting for treatments and surgeries on a range of matters. Those people need your help, First Minister, and the Welsh Government must now come forward with a strategy as a matter of urgency.
Therefore, will you commit to publishing a specific strategy for tackling Wales's rising waiting times? Will you also confirm that the next Welsh Government budget will provide sufficient resources to health boards across Wales to ensure that these waiting times do not continue to rise? What assurances can you offer to people across Wales who are waiting for treatment that they will be able to access NHS treatments and services, and that work is actually under way to accelerate the resumption of planned surgeries right across Wales?