6. Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on Maternity Services and Governance Improvements at Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:09 pm on 13 October 2020.

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Photo of Leanne Wood Leanne Wood Plaid Cymru 6:09, 13 October 2020

Okay. Diolch, Llywydd. Minister, this update will be welcomed by the women who raised concerns all those years ago, and who were patronised at that time and ignored. Now, I'm pleased that the review panel has concluded that improvements have been made to maternity services, but there will be understandable concern in the community about whether lessons have been learned. There will, of course, be questions about whether the current COVID outbreak that has claimed the lives of many people in the Royal Glamorgan Hospital could have been prevented, and whether infection control procedures have been as good as they should have been. I know that the Minister in his statement said that the board has been honest about this and that this is a sign of progress, and I wonder if that implies that the previous board may not have been honest. But can the Minister today give us an assurance that there will, in the future, be an investigation into this outbreak and give us assurances that the board and the Welsh Government will be fully open and transparent here, because, of course, that will be vital in ensuring that the community has confidence in local services?

The Minister's statement also praises the board for making improvements against the backdrop of COVID. It is, of course, the case that the staff in our NHS need to be thanked every day for the unprecedented work that has gone on this past year. But I do fear that the Minister has omitted another significant pressure that staff in the Royal Glamorgan Hospital have had to deal with, and that has been the uncertainty over its future role and question marks over the services there. It has been an entirely unnecessary distraction. So, can the Minister confirm today that staff will not have this distraction placed over their heads again in the future, and that accident and emergency services will be part of the Royal Glamorgan in the future post pandemic?

Moving on to other staffing issues, we know that the birthing unit has had staffing problems and is now under temporary closure. So, can the Minister commit to increasing staff so that the unit has more resilience through the winter?

Finally, I wanted to ask a more general question about maternity services that will be of wider interest, and that is relating to the general rules about access to maternity, birthing and neonatal services during this pandemic. We know that the ban on visitors to accompany women to appointments and scans or when in hospital, sometimes necessarily, has harmed those women. So, will you commit to a review of the rules and consider measures that can enable both parents to participate in all aspects of the pregnancy and birth, and the conditions that need to be put in place in order that everyone can do that safely?