6. Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Escalation and further intervention to improve the quality of services in Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:34 pm on 28 February 2023.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Siân Gwenllian Siân Gwenllian Plaid Cymru 4:34, 28 February 2023

(Translated)

We've been here before, of course, but the major, necessary changes were not introduced, and, indeed, poor decisions were made in the previous time in special measures. The board was in special measures when the vascular service in Ysbyty Gwynedd was dismantled in the name of centralisation, and we all know what the upshot of that was. So, the fundamental question is what will be different this time. How much time will you give for that difference to start to reveal itself? I assume, and I very much hope, that you as Minister have set out your timetable for implementing change over a full list of measurable deliverables. Can you confirm that, and what exactly that timetable looks like?

I would suggest that you also need to be willing to say what you will do if improvement isn’t made within a particular timescale. You have to have a plan B, ready to go, because I’m concerned that plan A, which is what has been in place since yesterday, will not bear fruit, and certainly won’t do so swiftly enough. Plaid Cymru has set out its plans for the creation of smaller units, and I’m sure if you followed the advice of Ken Skates and asked people in north Wales to tell you what they would like to see happening, then their answer would be the same. But you have rejected that, and are doing so at the moment, so what exactly is your plan B?

I would also like to know what else—