2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:38 pm on 14 September 2021.

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Photo of James Evans James Evans Conservative 2:38, 14 September 2021

Like my colleague Paul Davies, I have also been contacted by large numbers of constituents, concerned about ambulance waiting times. Our hard-working ambulance crews and accident and emergency teams are amazing, working tirelessly, but ambulance crews are spending all of their shifts sat outside hospitals, waiting to hand over patients, causing long delays, leaving rural communities like mine in Brecon and Radnorshire without adequate cover in case of emergency.

Here's an example of correspondence that I received earlier in the week. A 92-year-old lady, just outside Brecon, fell with a suspected broken hip. The ambulance was called at 4 p.m.. The lady remained in considerable pain, unable to move, unable to travel by car, unable to eat or drink. The ambulance arrived next morning because there were no ambulances across my constituency. This is not isolated. Over 400 people, right across Wales, earlier in the year, were waiting over 12 hours for an ambulance. I'm sure nobody in this Chamber finds that acceptable.

So, Trefnydd, will you please now ask the Minister for Health and Social Services to make an urgent statement on this crisis, and outline the proposals on how the Welsh Government will improve access to ambulances, because people waiting on the floor for 12 hours for an ambulance is absolutely shameful?