Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:35 pm on 13 July 2022.

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Photo of Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Labour 2:35, 13 July 2022

Thanks very much. Well, Russell will be aware that the figures have gone up everywhere in the past year; this is not a unique situation—they've sky-rocketed everywhere. And, of course, we're all challenged now, in terms of getting those lists down, and that's why we did publish our planned care proposal back in April, where the targets are very, very clearly set out. I can tell you that I'm having regular meetings with the chairs of the health boards, just to underline the importance of hitting those targets. You will be aware that the way we count our lists is very significantly different from the way they count in England. So, we include the number of people waiting for diagnostic treatment and therapies—that's a significant number of people. So, you're comparing apples and pears here, and it is important that people understand that. We also include follow-up appointments after diagnostic tests. And if you transfer between one consultant and another, we start a new pathway, so that's counted again. So, yes, sometimes we don't help ourselves, if I'm honest. So, that is difficult, and I've obviously asked if we can look at the way we count, but it's a major, major issue to change the way we count. And to be quite honest, I just think we're being more transparent with the public about the reality of the situation, in a way that I'm afraid your Conservative Government in England is not being transparent.