7. Plaid Cymru Debate: Health inequalities

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:26 pm on 12 January 2022.

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Photo of Rhun ap Iorwerth Rhun ap Iorwerth Plaid Cymru 5:26, 12 January 2022

I really am grateful to Members from across the political parties for their contributions, and the sheer range of inequalities that have been put forward by everybody highlights, doesn't it, the scale of the problem that we face. I think the seriousness of the situation is reflected in the seriousness of the contributions that we have heard today from, I'd say, almost all Members, other than the Member for the Vale of Clwyd who decided to have a pop at those of us who have ambitions for Wales, whilst missing the irony that he was doing so by playing to a right-wing British nationalist audience, but there's always one. But we're calling today, aren't we, for clear action, a clear plan of action from Welsh Government? Nobody is denying—the Minister, certainly, is not denying that there are deeply ingrained inequalities in Wales.

What this motion today is doing is trying to get us to agree that dealing with those inequalities has to be a a joined-up affair. The Minister argued that dealing with inequalities is hard-wired into the Government's thinking, but I'm seeing a loose connection. Whilst the Government believes that it is already acting in a joined-up way, how is it that all these highly respected organisations, which are drawn together from all parts of the health and care spectrum, professionally and representing patients, how come they believe that we do not have a coherent strategy, and how come they believe that now is the time to put that strategy in place?

To Labour Members, in particular, who outlined eloquently the issues that you are seeing within your constituencies: use this opportunity to send a positive message to the Government that we need more; that, yes, there are positive things in what Government is already doing, but we need more and we need it to gel together. So, support our motion today, so that we don't have to look forward to generations again of talking about the inequalities that we have in Wales, because they do not need to be there, and we are in the privileged position of being able to take action to address them.