Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:13 pm on 25 January 2023.
Absolutely, it's a great thing, Carolyn, and I will touch on that later in my speech, about some of the intricacies of that.
One of the biggest lunacies of this agenda was when they closed the Conwy community hospital in 2003 to pave the way for the expansion of Llandudno General Hospital, which was subsequently downgraded to community status just a few years later. You couldn't make it up. Then, north Wales saw the introduction of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in 2009, which took the place of the three localised health boards in North East Wales NHS Trust, Conwy and Denbighshire NHS Trust, and North West Wales NHS Trust. And, since the formation of Betsi Cadwaladr, we've seen many of the long-term issues compounded, and it's widely regarded that the size of the board is far too big for its needs. So, I'd be interested to see what the Government think on that point in responding to the debate, on how we manage this problem and make sure that the people of north Wales truly have a health service that represents the local people's health needs. You've been in charge of this for so many years down here in Cardiff, Minister, and it's time that you really think seriously about this, as north Wales's health board is disproportionately worse performing than any other in Wales, and possibly even the UK at a stretch. So, it's time to up our game and get real about the severity of the problems in north Wales.
One success story was the opening of Holywell Community Hospital in 2009, complete with community wards, allied health professionals and a minor injuries unit. And this was widely seen as a model for the plans for the construction of north Denbighshire community hospital in Rhyl, which has been promised by Labour politicians—