Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:29 pm on 22 March 2022.
Trefnydd, could I ask for two statements from the Minister for Health and Social Services, please? Firstly, I would like to request a statement regarding access to GP services. Recently, a constituent contacted me after their family tried to get an appointment at a GP surgery, only to be told that a nurse would call them back with a phone appointment arranged for three weeks after the person had tried to get an appointment. I understand that GPs are facing significant demands, as they normally do, but a number of constituents have raised with me their difficulties obtaining a GP appointment, and particularly the ability to see a doctor face to face. Not everyone can use a mobile phone or have access to the internet, so it's important that people can see their doctor in a timely manner in a way that meets their needs.
Secondly, Trefnydd, could I request an urgent statement regarding services at the Grange University Hospital? It's completely regrettable that I have to inform the Chamber of yet another heartbreaking story of a constituent who has been let down by issues at the hospital. That particular story involves a constituent's 99-year-old mother, who has since, sadly, passed away. She waited over eight hours for an ambulance to arrive with a broken hip. She then was forced to wait outside the hospital in a cold ambulance for a number of hours. Her daughter meanwhile tried phoning the hospital to find out what had happened, yet every department that she needed to contact didn't answer. I want to make clear that this is not the fault of staff, doctors and nurses, but of the lack of adequate structures in place, which need to finally be addressed by both the health board and the Welsh Government. The Government and the health board need to get a grip because people deserve better, and we shouldn't have to keep raising constantly these issues in the Chamber and finding that nothing is being done about them and no improvement. So, I regret, Trefnydd, that I will be raising these things further if we can't get a statement and some progress on these things. Thank you, Llywydd.