1. How is the Welsh Government working to improve the provision of health services for the people of Cynon Valley? OQ59213

Llywydd, I thank the Member for that question. A series of national programmes assist the health board in providing improved access to its services. These programmes offer the most up-to-date clinical advice and access to latest best practice so that standards can be improved in all parts of Wales, including the Cynon valley.

Thank you for your answer, First Minister, and I was really pleased to hear the announcement last month about the new diagnostics and treatment centre for south-east Wales, to be based in Rhondda Cynon Taf. This could not just reduce, but actually eliminate, backlogs in accessing treatment and substantially reduce waiting times, moving forward, for orthopedic surgeries in particular, for people in Cynon valley and neighbouring areas. Can you provide any information on timescales for delivery of this key project and, in addition, outline what help Welsh Government will be providing to health boards to get this new centre up and running?

Well, Llywydd, I thank Vikki Howells for that question, and for drawing attention to that very important development in the RCT area. And, Llywydd, it's a genuine example, I think, of the social partnership approach in Wales in action. The three buildings that are to be used were first identified by the local authority. They drew them to the attention of the health board. The health board had negotiations with the current private sector occupant of the buildings. The health board then involved itself in discussions with the wider south-east Wales health community, and the financial help to acquire the buildings was provided through the Welsh Government. So, there you have local government, the health service, the private sector and the Welsh Government all collectively involved in bringing about a development that, as Vikki Howells said, will lead to significant new capacity for residents in this part of Wales. 

In terms of timescales, it's important to remember that the building is still occupied by its current owner, but there will be a period over the next 12 months in which they bring their use of the building to an end, and diagnostic capacity, which will be the first phase of the new development, will be worked up by the health board, its partners, including the Welsh Government, and that will be the first phase in the next calendar year. And then, once that is developed, there will be physical space at the buildings to have dedicated elective capacity, with a particular focus on orthopaedic care, which will, as Vikki Howells said, Llywydd, make an important difference to patients in that part of Wales, in accelerating their access to treatment. And the Welsh Government will be there not just with the financial help we've offered so far, but, as I said in my original answer, by making sure that the health board has access to those national programmes, those national clinical leads, which will help to make sure that the most advantage can be derived from this new development.

First Minister, according to Stats Wales, in December 2022, Cwm Taf Morgannwg health board, which covers the Cynon valley, along with Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil and the rest of Rhondda Cynon Taf, had a staggering 13,732 patients waiting more than 14 weeks for diagnostic and therapy services, out of a population of 450,000. This represents 36 per cent of the total amount of people waiting more than 14 weeks in Wales. Cwm Taf health board also had 31,992 patients waiting over eight weeks, which represented 18 per cent of the Welsh total, which is, sadly, further evidence of the postcode lottery that exists in Wales with the health service. To put these figures into perspective, for the same month, the whole of London, which has a population of over nine million people, had a similar amount of 32,953 people waiting more than six weeks. Recent Office for National Statistics data shows that, out of the 331 areas in the United Kingdom, Merthyr Tydfil is officially the sickest place, with almost 10 per cent of the population in very bad health, whilst RCT is sixth and Bridgend is thirteenth. As you know, recent news shows that Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has now been put back into special measures, and the British Dental Association has warned that NHS dentistry in Wales could soon disappear, with the chairman of the BDA's Welsh general committee stating that Welsh NHS dentistry in its current state is unlikely to exist in a year or two's time. With this in mind, First Minister, what steps has the Welsh Government taken to improve on these appalling statistics? Thank you.

Well, it's being so cheerful that keeps him going, Llywydd—it's certainly not the accuracy of his grasp of the facts. In some ways, the Member managed to answer his own question, eventually, by pointing to the fact that the reason why there are percentages of that sort waiting in Cwm Taf is because of the nature of the population it serves. It's not a postcode lottery at all; it's as the Member eventually managed to say—it is because Cwm Taf Morgannwg serves one of the oldest and sickest populations that we see anywhere in Wales. And the demand for health services reflects the needs of that local population. It's all the better news, therefore, that the development that Vikki Howells pointed to will accelerate access not simply to diagnostic services, but to planned operations for people in that part of Wales.