Step-down Beds

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:01 pm on 7 February 2023.

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Photo of Altaf Hussain Altaf Hussain Conservative 2:01, 7 February 2023

Minister, the provision of step-down care is vital if we are to tackle the ever-growing waiting times experienced by patients in my region and across Wales. Of course, if a previous Welsh Government had not closed community hospitals and overseen the removal of over 10,000 beds from our NHS, we might not be in this predicament today. However, what is important now is that step-down care is provided in as safe a manner as possible. Minister, I have received a number of reports that patients have been transferred to step-down beds whilst not medically stable. In such cases, the step-down ward has to depend on the ambulance service for emergency medical care. What steps are your Government taking to ensure that there are no unsafe transfers to step-down care and that any step-down bed has adequate medical as well as domiciliary care?