Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:55 pm on 14 December 2022.
A constituent has contacted me who is a dental nurse. She suffers with carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. Clearly, that impacts her ability to work, but it also has an impact on her well-being and quality of life. She was told before the summer that she would have to wait 12 months for treatment, but only if it was an emergency. It was confirmed in September that it was an emergency but that the waiting time was now two years. Now, such is the pain and the impact that the condition has on her that she's now decided that she must access private treatment. To pay for that, she is having to sell her home, Minister. So, what's your message to people such as her, who are driven to the private sector and very often have to do that although they can't truly afford to? And aren't you ashamed that people are having to sell their homes to get treatment—[Inaudible.]