Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:43 pm on 9 June 2021.

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Photo of Russell George Russell George Conservative 2:43, 9 June 2021

Thank you, Minister. I appreciate that you've given a little bit more detail about the timescale. You referred to having that information back from the health boards by, I think you said, next week. And I suppose the question then is timescales about the process of when you'll be making those commitments, bringing forward those proposals to the finance Minister, and when you believe the finance Minister will be in a position to tell the Chamber how that £900 million is going to be allocated.

I also raised concerns yesterday about the workforce, and how it's vital to have a workforce strategy to underpin the critical shortages in our NHS workforce, so we don't face burnout whilst trying to tackle the mounting treatment backlog, and I know you appreciate and agree with that concern. Now, I know in the Labour Party manifesto that you referred to 12,000 doctors, nurses and allied healthcare professionals, but what it didn't say in the manifesto, so I'm hoping you can tell us this today, it didn't give us much detail about the breakdown of who you were intending to recruit to tackle the backlog. So, I think it is critical for the very safety of patients and, of course, for legal requirements as well under the Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Act 2016 that we have adequate staffing on our wards, of course, as well. I know you'll agree with that.

So, can you outline today, Minister, how many doctors and nurses you will recruit, how long you believe it will take to achieve, and how much of the £900 million you will specifically be spending on recruitment? Now, I appreciate that some of this answer might relate to that information that you're waiting to receive, but if you can give us any insight into that, that would be appreciated, Minister.