Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:50 pm on 15 February 2022.
I'd like a statement, please, on the centralisation of health services in South Wales East—that is, the fact that people now have to travel to different hospitals in order to get different treatments. I've been contacted by a constituent about the fact that all diagnostic breast procedures will only be carried out at Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr in Ystrad Mynach, and that will mean that constituents will need to travel on long journeys by public transport if they don't have a car. So, for someone from Gilwern, for example, but also villages and towns across the region, this could mean journeys that will be complicated, long and involve a number of changes. Patients will often have to wait in the cold for another bus to come. My constituent has pointed out that people requiring cancer treatment will need multiple diagnostic appointments and so would be put through this ordeal more than once. And the patient-carrying service, too, involves long waiting times. Trefnydd, people across the south-east of Wales were told that, when the Grange hospital opened, it would mean better services, but I am concerned or I do share the concern of residents that we're now seeing less direct access to care. The staff of the health board are doing a tremendous job—they need to be commended—but I would like a statement, please, outlining how the Government will tackle the issues to do with access to different hospitals now that different services are being provided in different locations, because the last thing that people who are unwell need is added stress.