Ambulance Waiting Times

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:14 pm on 29 November 2022.

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Photo of Laura Anne Jones Laura Anne Jones Conservative 2:14, 29 November 2022

Thank you, First Minister. I asked the health Minister the same question recently as to how this Government will cut ambulance waiting times. First Minister, it's been over a year now since your Government published its six goals for emergency care, and the situation has got worse, as I experienced myself recently and many of my constituents. None of this, of course, is the fault of hard-working paramedics, but the poor planning from this Labour Government. As I said to the health Minister, we haven't forgotten that the last health Minister said that it would be foolish to publish a plan for recovery whilst the pandemic was going on, and now we're paying the price.

First Minister, as we've heard already, we're now in winter and we know the situation will deteriorate, even without the prospect of a nurses' strike. I was in children's A&E with my son last week, and during the night there were 67 children to see and two doctors. Demand increases. First Minister, what immediate measures are you taking to ensure that our ambulance waiting times improve, and also, ultimately, that patients don't pay the ultimate price due to this Government's poor planning or lack of action?