5. Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Planned Care Recovery Plan

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:20 pm on 26 April 2022.

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Photo of Huw Irranca-Davies Huw Irranca-Davies Labour 4:20, 26 April 2022

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd, and I will keep my question very brief indeed. First of all, I do welcome the plan, because it does give hope, particularly with the targets, but those now have to be not only achievable but delivered as well. Because a lot of us who believe strongly to our dying day in the NHS know that we've got to give confidence back that the system isn't broken. It's bowed, but we can actually fix this and we can get it back onto its feet. And my two questions related to this are these: first of all—and it reflects on the past 10 years—we put the money into the NHS that we are able to that comes through Barnett consequentials. Rigorous analysis that has been done has shown that, over the average 10 years leading up to the start of the pandemic, the increase was around 1.4 per cent per year compared to 3.7 per cent. It was missing, Dirprwy Lywydd, £37 billion. So, is the quantum sufficient that we now have going forward? And secondly, how are the staff ready to deliver this? After coming out of a pandemic, in all the brutal conditions that staff have encountered, now to do this turnaround—. Can it be done? What support will we give to the staff to do it, and is there enough money in the system now to do it as well? But I welcome the fact that nothing's been ruled out of this. You've thrown the kitchen sink at it.