Questions Without Notice from the Party Leaders

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:54 pm on 6 December 2022.

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Photo of Andrew RT Davies Andrew RT Davies Conservative 1:54, 6 December 2022

I asked you specifically about the Royal College of Emergency Medicine's baseline figure, and I have successively asked you this on numerous occasions. From the numbers I've put before you today, First Minister, we clearly can see that there has been little or no improvement in reaching those baseline figures. So, are we going to see an improvement, given the figures you've just put forward, so that when, in six or 12 months' time, we revisit this, we will see that improvement in consultants in A&E departments here in Wales?

And importantly, the statement that the Government put out this morning of short-term plans being put in place to address the concerns that the BMA have highlighted today, can you highlight exactly what those short-term plans are to get us over this particular pinch-point? I appreciate you've highlighted training programmes and training schemes, and you and I can debate and argue about numbers, but it is a fact that the chairman of the BMA has come out today and highlighted the pressure points, so if you could address the specific short-term plan, so that we can have confidence that the Government have sight of this, then hopefully doctors, nurses and other clinical professionals can have confidence that the pressure they feel on a daily basis when they go into work will be alleviated in the short, medium and long term.