5. Statement by the Minister for Social Justice: International Women’s Day

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:43 pm on 8 March 2022.

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Photo of Rhun ap Iorwerth Rhun ap Iorwerth Plaid Cymru 4:43, 8 March 2022

(Translated)

Thank you very much, Minister, for the statement, and thank you for the opportunity to discuss this. It's very important that we allocate time to mark International Women's Day here in the Senedd. The theme this year is to 'break the bias'. One area where that bias or the gap exists is with regard to health, with heart attacks specifically. The recent report by the British Heart Foundation about the biological gap says that women are under a huge disadvantage at every stage of the patient pathway when it comes to heart disease. They're less likely to have a diagnosis urgently, less likely to receive the best care and treatment and so on. I know that the Government is putting together a women's health plan at the moment, and I'm very pleased about that, but can I ask for assurance that the Minister will press for a continuation of trying to bridge this gap when it comes to fair treatment for women with heart disease? May I ask her to push to ensure that awareness is increased of the risks associated with heart disease amongst women in particular? When we look at the figures that suggest that, potentially, 8,000 female lives have been lost because of the deficiencies in this field, it is sobering, and that within a period of 10 years. And when we think that perhaps what is at the heart of this is a lack of women entering the cardiology profession, may I have an assurance that women will be encouraged to go into that profession and that that will be a prominent part of the Government's work in this field?