Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:52 pm on 6 December 2022.
May I ask for a debate in Government time on the state of the NHS? As we enter winter, staff are doing their very best, but the situation is impossible. I've heard of a series of incidents affecting constituents over the past few days: one woman in her 80s, concerned that she'd broken her hip, waiting 24 hours on the floor at home for an ambulance; another elderly woman waiting hours in the emergency department while ambulances were queueing outside; a young woman being treated in the corridor in the emergency department because of a shortage of beds. There's nothing new about that; we all hear these stories. But things aren't improving, and I do fear that debates and statements on health in Government time have been few and far between recently. In the light of that, I would appreciate an opportunity as a matter of urgency to discuss the crisis in the NHS before winter really starts to bite.