Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:13 pm on 10 January 2023.
Diolch, Brif Weinidog. A constituent of mine from Morriston has been suffering with knee problems for 15 years, and has been waiting for five years, almost to the day, for two partial knee replacements, being in constant pain the whole time, and having had to give up her pub as a result. When I highlighted my constituent's case in a letter to Swansea Bay University Health Board, they said that waiting times for orthopaedic surgery in Swansea are now in excess of four years. I'm sorry it doesn't fit in with your understanding of the situation, but they also pointed to historic under-resourcing of orthopaedic surgery. The fact that there have been two questions this afternoon on the same issue from Members in South Wales West shows how full our inboxes are of these cases.
Yes, Westminster's underfunding of Wales and Tory cuts to public services are obviously a massive part of the problem here, but health is a Welsh Government responsibility. So, will the First Minister pledge in 2023 to acknowledge his own Government's agency and responsibility, and tell us what he's going to do to ensure the people of Wales, including my constituent, are properly looked after from cradle to grave and not left in pain and despair for years?