6. Welsh Conservatives Debate: NHS waiting lists

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:04 pm on 11 May 2022.

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Photo of Jenny Rathbone Jenny Rathbone Labour 4:04, 11 May 2022

I agree. And that was on my little list. [Laughter.]

So, the Welsh Government is investing £43 million in social care, which is the main cause of delayed transfer of care, by offering the real living wage to make it more attractive to go into social care and also by having the wraparound care that's available through the neighbourhood nursing schemes. These are definitely things that need rolling out. But we also need to develop an equitable service and the Minister's plans to bring services closer to home. Because, remember, 90 per cent of the population don't go anywhere near a hospital; it's a much smaller number who actually need to be in hospital. But we also need to acknowledge that we have problems with staffing levels and that these are not going to be easily resolved. That's why we had the closure of two midwifery-led birthing units announced in Aneurin Bevan, which means that we're having to concentrate hospitals on a smaller number of units that are further away from where people are living, and that causes additional problems. But the problem is also exacerbated by Brexit. Those of you who think that Brexit was a good idea, let me just tell you that one health board—