9. What steps is the Minister taking to improve recruitment and retention in the NHS? OQ59056

We are increasing staffing numbers through a range of recruitment and attraction approaches, including international recruitment and record investment in education and training programmes. Improving staff retention in the NHS and the sustainability of our workforce is paramount.

Thank you, Minister. When I've visited hospitals and picket lines in my region, staff have shared with me time and again the immense stress and pressure that they're under and the fact that many of their experienced colleagues are leaving on a weekly basis. They can no longer cope with the pressure that they're under, the stress of not being able to give the best possible care to all patients due to the scale of demand, and the stress as well as the day-to-day working patterns put in place. You and I both heard harrowing evidence in an event here in the Senedd from staff in our emergency departments describing the daily experience of going to work and how they're signing leaving cards for colleagues on a weekly basis.

Time and time and again, you say that there are more staff working for the NHS than ever before, but obviously on the ground, the story is very different. So, why is there this difference between the day-to-day experiences of staff working on the front line who tell us about experienced colleagues leaving, but you keep telling us that there are more and more staff available to the health service? So, what's being done to address this dreadful situation? Because we are saying that there are more staff, but we're not recognising how much expertise is being lost on a weekly basis. And what's the plan to address this?

Thanks very much. Well, it is true that we have more staff than ever employed in the NHS in Wales. What you will be aware of is that, actually, we have never seen demands on the service like this, and if we're honest, that demand is only going to go in one direction as we have an ageing population. The demand is going to increase. So, I think we've got to be very honest about the strain on the system currently, but actually, we do need to have a very genuine conversation amongst ourselves, with the public as well, about what the implications of this are for the future.

What I have done is to develop a national workforce implementation plan, and I'm pleased to say that I'm going to meet the deadline that I set myself, so it is going to be published today. Within that, there will be a whole series of actions that we plan to put in place in order to make sure that we can do more to retain the staff that we've got; to look at how we can ethically recruit nurses from overseas; to look at how we can deploy a reservist force in Wales; to look at how we can build up and develop the existing network of volunteers; and how we can create an all-Wales collaborative bank to make sure that we can create some more support to avoid paying very expensive agency nurses.

Question 10, Vikki Howells. Question 10, Vikki Howells.

Ah, yes, you're unmuted now. Carry on, Vikki.

Diolch, Llywydd.