8. Welsh Conservatives Debate: The impact of COVID-19 on health services

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:19 pm on 25 November 2020.

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Photo of Angela Burns Angela Burns Conservative 6:19, 25 November 2020

Diolch, Deputy Presiding Officer. I do not have very much time, so I'm not going to be able to touch on everybody's individual contributions. I would just like to say that I'm very grateful for the tone in which most of this debate was mostly conducted—sadly not all of it.

This isn't about having a knock at the NHS and the people who work so incredibly hard in it, or the doctors and the nurses. In fact, it's not even particularly a knock at the Government, because, let's be clear, this pandemic was something that none of us ever saw coming, and many people in many organisations, both public and private, have stepped up to the plate in a way that is unprecedented. And to each and every one of them, I say an enormous 'thank you'.

But the real concern behind all of this is we don't just have COVID in our lives, we have many other illnesses, many other diseases. And we don't seem to have a plan, and that's what we're calling for, and we've called for very clearly in our amendment today. Different health boards have different ways of dealing with their bit. Patients aren't clear. So, I just want to, very quickly, run through why I think we need a plan.

We need a plan to give hope to patients. Too many people are writing to too many of us, too often, to say they can't get access to treatment, they're really worried, they can't get the diagnoses they need, they've been told that they could conceivably have cancer, their heart's not in great shape, they had a bowel test a year ago and they're supposed to have a follow-up. People are frightened, they need to know that the Government has got a clear plan.

We need to have a plan to support the dedicated and, frankly, exhausted staff. They need to know that there's a way forward, that it's not just going to be COVID, COVID, COVID. We need to have a plan to ensure that all the health boards are in the right place at the right time—that we don't have a postcode lottery. Some health boards have performed extremely well during this pandemic, others have done less so. A clear plan on how we're going to catch up with these waiting times, with this backlog, will really help to bring everybody up and level that playing field. We need a plan to maximise the skills and the commitment of the specialist teams, to give confidence to the professionals.

We need a plan to answer the concerns and the fears of the many organisations. I can't run through them all, but we've got the Wales Cancer Alliance, we've got the Royal College of General Practitioners, Asthma UK, the British Lung Foundation, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, the British Heart Foundation, the Royal College of Surgeons, the Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Royal College of Psychiatrists. These guys know their business, and they are raising concerns about the lack of plan.

We need to have a plan to keep pace with other home nations. And we need a plan to ensure that the regional collaboration really works effectively—that if you can't get your treatment in Hywel Dda, you can go just up the road. If you can't get your treatment in Betsi Cadwaladr, you can go to another health board. And even more importantly, Minister, if you can't get your treatment in Wales, your gatekeepers will stand down and will allow you to go to other nations where some of this specialist treatment may still be available.

I've run out of time, Minister, as my timer—which you can probably all hear, and I can't work out how to switch off—is saying. I just want to say, this is not about saying to the NHS, 'You aren't doing it well.' You've been phenomenal. But it is about saying, 'It is now our duty to not just keep our eyes on the big fire that is COVID', because if we don't look at all the other small fires that are continuing to burn, then they will be the ones that will eventually burn down our building, and we cannot afford that, and our citizens do not deserve that. So, I ask you, please support the motion today.