Part of 4. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 3:46 pm on 31 January 2023.
Minister, the fact that we don’t always have a smooth transition between healthcare and social care has placed our NHS under a tremendous burden. Nowhere is this more evident than in end-of-life care. At the cross-party group on hospices and palliative care last week, we heard that accessing out-of-hours services was diabolical. A carer took over 20 hours to get through to the 111 service during a weekend just to discuss medication. It is little wonder, therefore, that one in every 14 patients attending A&E is an end-of-life patient. Minister, what steps is your Government taking to improve end-of-life services in the community, so that patients, carers and care homes are not forced to access acute health services?