Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:30 pm on 14 December 2022.
Thank you, Presiding Officer. Can I wish you and colleagues across the Chamber a happy Christmas, Minister?
Not a single surgical hub exists in Wales. Surgical hubs have been identified by the Royal College of Surgeons as essential to tackling the record treatment backlogs in the NHS, which now stands at over three quarters of a million cases in Wales. They've also proven central to reducing the backlog in England, which is why a further 50 are on the way, in addition to the 91 already in place. Minister, can I ask you why there aren't any surgical hubs in Wales when we have been telling you and your predecessor to put them in place for over two years?