Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:01 pm on 24 January 2023.
That is beneath the First Minister, to be honest with you. These are not my words; they're the words of the NHS workforce that we've been speaking to and listening to on the picket lines. We have nurses, doctors and others, through burn-out, who are crying on wards, and patients and their relatives because of the experience that they're facing. I'm afraid the state of denial that we've just heard from the First Minister reflects your complete misunderstanding, your complete disconnection from what is happening on the ground.
I welcome the fact that you're willing to look at our ideas positively in the five-point plan. At the heart of them is getting a long-term workforce plan to address this crisis of recruitment, retention and morale, and the problem of burn-out in the health service. Can being more flexible be part of the solution? Well, you could look at not just our ideas, but the ideas in the Senedd committee presented today in terms of a four-day working week. Could that provide some degree of solution in terms of, as well as improving productivity, reducing overwork and exhaustion, but also providing the dual benefit of a happier, healthier workforce, less stressed and sleep deprived? You're committed, you say, as a Government to being innovative and to evidence-based policy; why not look at this idea as part of the potential solution to the crisis of recruitment and retention in our health service?