Item 8 on the agenda is the Nurse Staffing Levels (Extension of Situations) (Wales) Regulations 2021, and I call on the Minister for Health and Social Services to move the motion. Vaughan Gething. 

Motion NDM7594 Rebecca Evans

To propose that the Senedd, in accordance with Standing Order 27.5:

1. Approves that the draft The Nurse Staffing Levels (Extension of Situations) (Wales) Regulations 2021 is made in accordance with the draft laid in the Table Office on 26 January 2021.

Motion moved.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I move the motion before us. The statutory instrument before us today extends the scope of the Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Act 2016's second duty to paediatric in-patient wards. It is the intention that these regulations come into force on 1 October 2021. When the 2016 Act was passed, sections 25B-25E were only applicable to adult acute medical and surgical wards. The reasoning for this was that those were the only wards with a suitably developed evidence-based workforce planning tool. That's cited explicitly by the Act as a requisite part of the triangulation calculation methodology. These regulations have been brought forward because, over the last three years, such a tool has been developed for use on paediatric in-patient wards. The regulations do not amend any of the terms or principles from the 2016 Act. Paediatric in-patient wards will simply become subject to the same duties and requirements that I set out in sections 25B, 25C, 25D and 25E of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006, as inserted by the 2016 Act.

The 2016 Act itself was introduced as a means of ensuring appropriate staffing levels were calculated using an evidence-based methodology. All evidence suggests that having the appropriate number of registered nurses reduces morbidity, improves patient outcomes and saves bed days. The regulations before us will extend the full scope of the duties set out in the Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Act 2016 to paediatric in-patient wards and ensure that children and young people receive the same level of nursing care as their adult patient counterparts. It marks a further implementation of the legislation originally piloted through the Senedd by my now Government colleague Kirsty Williams. I ask Members to support the regulations before us today.

Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. We will be supporting these regulations; indeed, we have supported the extension of the Act for some time. One question, if I may: given the events of the past 12 months and the uncertainty that there is in terms of how many committed but very tired staff could choose to leave the profession because of the stresses that they have been through, how confident is the Minister in the steps that this Government has put in place to allow the recruitment and retention of nurses in order to deliver against these regulations? And would the Minister accept that we need significant investment now in education and training for nurses to ensure that there are sufficient numbers of nurses and other health professionals coming into the NHS in the very challenging period that we face?

I have no other speakers and nobody wants an intervention, so, Minister to respond to the debate.

Yes, I'm happy to indicate that, of course, during the pandemic we've had significant challenges in our nurse numbers, but we've maintained our adherence to the duties. The expansion out, as I've indicated, comes on the back of having a recognised workforce planning tool, and we recognise that in this area and others, we need to continue to train and recruit and retain significant numbers of nurses. I'm proud of the fact that in all of my time as the health Minister, and indeed for some time before, we've increased nurse training on a consistent and persistent basis that puts us in a better position to introduce this duty, but we know we'll need to revise again before the end of this term, and whoever is the Government in the future, to maintain a commitment to continuing to invest in the future education and training of our nursing and wider healthcare workforce. That's why I'm proud to have introduced Health Education and Improvement Wales, amongst other things as well. So, I recognise the points the Member makes, but I hope that we are able to pass these regulations today and I will take some credit for the improved outcomes that we believe these regulations will provide in paediatric in-patient wards.

Thank you. The proposal is to agree the motion. Does any Member object? I don't see any objections, therefore in accordance with Standing Order 12.36, the motion is therefore agreed.

Motion agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.