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Diolch am y cwestiwn yna.
Official English translation
Thank you for that question.
Contributions
197 contributions on record. Newest first, by sitting day. Page 3 of 5. Counted by Siambr
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I set out priorities for healthcare in Wales, including Sir Fynwy Torfaen, in my oral statement on 2 June. These focus on improving access, strengthening local services, providing more care closer to home, reducing waiting times, supporting staff and ensuring long-term sustainability.
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Diolch am y cwestiwn atodol yna.
Official English translation
Thank you for that supplementary.
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Llywydd, this question has been exercised many times in this Chamber, so I will re-emphasise the fact that this Government will respect the court ruling, of course, but we are clear that we will treat everybody within the NHS—who enters our NHS, who enters our GP surgeries, who enters our hospitals, wherever they are in the health and care system—with the dignity and respect that they deserve, respecting who they are and being there for them in their hour of need.
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Thank you for the question from the Member. As the Member said, in the supplementary budget yesterday, as far as health is concerned, we had a focus on outcomes, on improving people's health and well-being by introducing more funding into tackling the waiting lists, and it was extremely disappointing, to say the least, to see people who have said that they wanted to support such a policy vote against it. We want to improve people's outcomes and make sure that the impact on patients is better. So, we have made sure that NHS Wales Performance and Improvement are now involved. They have agreed an intervention approach in the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board to support them. Their improvement plan focuses on supporting frail and older people in the community—exactly answering the points that the Member raised—increasing the front-door capacity for people with complex needs and ensuring timely discharge. We have also allocated an additional £3 million this year to enable the delivery of the improvement plan.
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Thank you. The Member will be aware—I'm sure he was a member of the committee when we discussed ambulances in the last Senedd—that why those changes were brought in is because of recommendations put forward by our committee. The Member will have, I'm sure, read the story in the news recently about how other countries are now looking at the introduction of that purple target and how they are improving outcomes in the ambulance trust, which is to be welcomed. However, the broader point I think the Member raises about communication is important. Communication across the board in the NHS has not been where it should be in ensuring that patients know what to expect and when to expect it. So, this is something, certainly, I will be picking up in my regular meetings with the ambulance trust, and I'm more than happy to keep the Member informed on developments on that.
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When patients need access to specialist care outside of their health board area, I expect the commissioning health board to have put in place robust pathway arrangements so that people receive seamless, high-quality care. The nature of these arrangements will depend on the specific condition in question.
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Firstly, can I say how sorry I am to hear of the experiences that you had to go through, and for your father? It must have been distressing and I sincerely hope that your father had a full recovery in that period. The Member also raises an important point about the long distances involved in accessing such services, an issue that, of course, is especially pronounced in rural areas like Gwynedd Maldwyn. This is why our agenda has a particular emphasis on addressing disproportionate geographic barriers to accessing treatment with actions in the first 100 days plan, as well as longer term measures designed to support this objective. In terms of the specific issues raised on data, the NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee is responsible for commissioning cardiac surgery on behalf of health boards in Wales. As part of the commissioning requirements, centres in Wales and those commissioned in England must submit data to the National Cardiac Audit Programme, which is funded by the Welsh Government. Now, while the most recent reports from the National Adult Cardiac Surgery Audit appear to contain data from commissioned centres in Wales, and along the border with Wales, that isn't to say that this data provides the entire spectrum of patients' experiences, and continuous reviewing and refining is of course a very important element of data handling. So, I'd be grateful, therefore, if the Member could write to me with further details on the specific gaps that she has found, and I'll instruct my officials to make enquiries on her behalf.
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Diolch am y cwestiwn. Mae'r Aelod yn gwneud pwynt pwysig ar y dechrau drwy sôn am ba mor bwysig oedd y gyllideb atodol ddoe, yn rhoi £145 miliwn yn y flwyddyn ariannol yma er mwyn mynd i'r afael â rhestrau aros, er mwyn gwella'r isadeiledd a gwella'r ddarpariaeth sydd gennym ni ar gyfer rhestrau aros. Roedd yn siomedig aruthrol gweld Aelodau Llafur a'r Rhyddfrydwyr yn ochri efo Reform er mwyn pleidleisio yn erbyn polisïau ac yn erbyn ariannu a fyddai'n mynd i'r afael ag un o'r materion pwysicaf sydd wedi ein hwynebu ni yn y maes iechyd yma yng Nghymru dros y ddegawd a rhagor ddiwethaf. Ond, mi fyddwn ni'n parhau efo cynlluniau er mwyn mynd i'r afael â'r rhestrau aros hynny, ac mi fydd y rheini'n uniongyrchol o fudd i bobl Powys. Rydyn ni'n ymwybodol o bobl sydd ar restrau aros am amseroedd rhy hir ym Mhowys. Mi fyddan nhw'n cael budd o hyn. Ond, mi fyddwn ni hefyd yn gwneud yn siŵr fod yna rapid diagnostic centre ar gyfer canser yn cael ei chyflwyno ym Mhowys er mwyn gweld pobl ynghynt, yn lle bod pobl yn mynd i'r ysbytai yna sydd ymhell i ffwrdd pan fyddan nhw'n cyrraedd cam 4 yn eu taith canser, sydd yn mynd i fod lawer yn rhy hwyr i nifer ohonyn nhw. Mi fyddwn ni'n edrych yn gynt arnyn nhw ac yn sicrhau eu bod yn cael diagnosis cynt hefyd.
Official English translation
Thank you for that question. The Member made an important point at the outset in talking about the importance of the supplementary budget yesterday, in providing £145 million in this financial year in order to address waiting lists, to improve infrastructure and to improve the provision that we have for waiting lists. It was incredibly disappointing to see Labour and Liberal Members siding with Reform to vote against policies and against funding that would tackle one of the most pressing issues that has faced us in health in Wales over a decade and more. But, we will continue with our plans to address those waiting lists, and this will directly benefit the people of Powys. We are aware of people who have been on waiting lists for far too long in Powys. They will benefit from this. But, we will also ensure that there is a rapid diagnostic centre for cancer introduced in Powys too so that people are seen earlier, rather than people going to hospitals that are long distances away when they get to stage 4 in their cancer journey, which will be far too late for many of them. We will see them more quickly and ensure that they get an earlier diagnosis too.
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We've been very clear that two-year waits will be tackled in a matter of months.
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The Member will be aware that the previous Government set a number of targets and failed to reach them because they weren't realistic. We are absolutely realistic in how we are investing this money into improving outcomes so that people are seen quicker. We know that we've got issues around gynaecology. We know we've got issues around cataracts. We know about orthopaedics. So, these are the things that we need to look at and improve. That's why we're going to set up the elective care hub, so that we can see people quicker, so that people can get their treatment within the time frame that is required, so that they improve and can get on with their lives. So, we're absolutely clear. We've been clear all along. I'm not quite sure where these questions come from. Everything we've said in the past, we are sticking by. We will be achieving this in a matter of months. However, let me remind you that you and your colleagues and others here voted against the budget yesterday, which had £145 million in order to tackle this. So, let's not have any crocodile tears that you are concerned about waiting lists. Clearly, you're not. If you were, you'd have supported the supplementary budget so that we could get this money onto the front line to see people as soon as possible.
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You voted against the £145 million yesterday, right? Let me remind you of what your spokesperson, Cai Parry-Jones, said. He set out a number of red lines and, within one of those red lines, why you were opposing it, was the fact that we are employing Indian doctors here. So, clearly, you're not concerned—[Interruption.] Indian nurses, sorry, just to correct the record—Indian nurses. So, let's be clear. You're not concerned about improving the health outcomes of people in Wales. You don't want to see an improved workforce here, which is what we're looking to get to grips with. Now, you mentioned also planning. It's not all about planning. We've got—and I've mentioned this so many times—a number of under-utilised spaces here, theatre spaces that are not used properly. So, we're going to improve those theatre spaces so that we do see those treatments being carried out and people seen quicker. You should know this as an opposition spokesperson who's been on the committees. It's not difficult; this is what it's about. And we know what we're doing because everything we've put forward is clinically led. Now, if you don't want to see improved outcomes for people, fine, carry on as you are. But we know that we're being led by doctors, by surgeons, by operational managers who've done this successfully in parts of Wales and in England, who will advise us on the best way forward so that we can improve outcomes in Wales. That's our focus.
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Thank you to the Member for that question and raising the issue. First of all, I think we need to recognise and be realistic that this is happening. Global warming is happening in front of our eyes. We're experiencing it. Some people want to deny that. Again, I'm pointing my finger at Reform, who are more than happy to say it's not happening. This is man-made, and it's impacting on the well-being of people in Wales, the people that you represent, and it's incumbent on us to respond to this as soon as we can. The Wales ambulance trust was under significant pressure last week and the week before, and we've seen them step up as well and making sure that they are responding the best they can. I take my hat off to the paramedics, ambulance drivers and the people in that service who've done such terrific work in responding to the various calls that they've received over the last few weeks. The recent heatwave saw unprecedented demand on the services, resulting in a critical incident being declared and substantial increases in both emergency calls and high acuity incidents. So, we put out a guidance note to all the hospitals and the health boards following the previous heatwave, making sure that they were aware that they needed to prepare for this summer and for the ones coming up. You will have heard also in my winter pressure statements that I referred to the heatwaves, and the fact that we are now taking the approach of an all-year-round assessment of the situation. We are already preparing bilaterals with various Cabinet Ministers, in this instance the Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning, looking at how we need to include those considerations of global warming and the environment around the health system when it comes to planning into those briefings and portfolios, so that we prepare, moving forward, for this in the future.
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So, the issue with the graduates lies squarely on the shoulders of the previous Government. This is an issue that was under your watch, back in 2023. As you said, these students were the cohort going through from 2022-23, and it will take a few years to work through the system. That's why one of the first things that I did when I came into this post was set up a graduate summit, in order to try and find options for as many of these young people as possible. Because here in Wales, different from England, they are streamlined, so a promise is made to them. So we need to try and honour that promise, and it's disappointing that we were left in a position where those promises were broken by the previous Government. So now we're trying to find a long-term solution for this. That's why we've asked Healthcare Inspectorate Wales to work with the health boards, to work with the representative bodies, to bring that plan together, and I expect to see a plan by the end of December—or early autumn, in fact. Now, when it comes to the bursary scheme, once again, may I just remind you that this wasn't part of any negotiations that you brought forward or discussions that you brought forward for the supplementary budget, which you voted against as a party, in order to improve health outcomes in Wales. I am absolutely more than happy to discuss any options that you might have and consider their impact and assess how they might be included, but I just remind you that, as we have been informed by the Cabinet Minister for Finance, there are massive in-year pressures currently in the health service, and those pressures are only going to get worse as time goes on because of settlements coming down from London and the fact that we don't have a fair funding formula for Wales.
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The Member is quite right that the targets reached when it comes to pancreatic cancer—in fact, most of the cancers, especially the rarest cancers in Wales—are not where they should be. As a country, we are seeing far too many people suffer from cancer and losing their lives too early, so we need to get to grips with this. When you talk about the development with the breath test that you mentioned, which has been trialled, these developments—. There are a lot of things going on in the cancer space at the moment, and it's really exciting to see those developments happening here in Wales. They're not recognised enough. That's why I had conversations and meetings recently with our research and innovation departments within the Welsh NHS to see what more we can do, because we need to attract more clinical trials in Wales, and we need to attract more research here in Wales. So, we're working on that now so that Wales can become a world leader in that and then improve that optimal pathway, which we need to look at. And that will be a specific look in our cancer strategy. You'll have read the cancer strategy written statement that I issued today. Now, that has been welcomed by the Wales Cancer Alliance and we will be working with them and others in order to make sure that that cancer strategy is all-encompassing, is comprehensive and will answer those needs.
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Short and sweet: yes.
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I set out my priorities for NHS Wales on 2 June. This included reducing waiting times and improving access to services. To support this, I've set up an expert panel on the development of surgical hubs and am commissioning an independent review of performance. We have allocated an additional £145 million to support improvements.
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It might well have been a priority for the last Government. I doubt whether it's a priority for your party right now because you voted against the supplementary budget, which offered £145 million to develop diagnostic hubs and elective care hubs across Wales. But, yes, it is a priority.
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Thank you for that. As was mentioned in the previous question, we are looking forward to the development of the Llantrisant Health Park, which will improve outcomes for the people in your area.
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Identifying and planning for future workforce gaps is a core part of effective workforce planning. We're working with health boards, trusts and Health Education and Improvement Wales to strengthen forecasting, enhance workforce intelligence and better align education, training, recruitment and funded posts. This will support safe services now and a sustainable NHS workforce for the future.
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The Member will be aware that—[Interruption.] The Member will be aware that we have a streamlining process in Wales, which is meant to ensure that they have jobs, that nurses and midwives and others have jobs when they finish their graduation. Unfortunately, because of the previous Government's failure to honour this, many nurses, midwives and paramedics in Wales today can't find those jobs, that's why we set up the graduate summit. So, I won't exercise that answer again; I've answered it once already, so forgive me if I don't go any further down that line.
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The Member is absolutely right that, in the ophthalmic field, as in many other fields in health and care, in fact, we have many vacancies. The truth is that the system as it is, the one that we found when we got into position, doesn't record fully the whole workforce that we've got in Wales. So, some of the gaps that we've got, we are dependent on other bodies to inform us of their best-case situation. So, we have to rectify this and make sure that we know the current situation and, moving forward, know what we will need. That's why we've set up two plans. First of all, a clinical plan for Wales so that we understand what the clinical needs of Wales are moving forward, and sitting beneath that clinical plan, we will have, and are developing now, the full comprehensive workforce plan—and I've mentioned this in this Chamber before—where I will be producing the first high-level part of that workforce plan and bringing it forward to the Senedd in the autumn.
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This is slightly frustrating, because you're talking about two different things there that are going on. So, the situation with graduates, that goes back to 2022-23 and it will take a few years to work through the system. So, that's why we're finding an issue with the graduates now, because they started on their courses in 2022 when there were vacancies in the system, and the mapping and the modelling suggested that there would be vacancies in the system, but retention has improved because of the economic situation that the country finds itself in, which means that those positions are no longer available. So, that's dating back to 2022, when we did have those vacancies. And the issue with having Indian nurses—. And once again, you're going on about Indian nurses, let's make sure that we show gratitude for the work of the nurses that come into this country, who treat your loved ones, my loved ones; they are there working, treating people who are sick, making sure that our loved ones improve. They've been recruited over the last few years before this year's graduate issue was recognised as a problem, which is a problem that lies with the previous Government. So, yes, that's why we had a graduate summit, in order to make sure that this doesn't happen again. And, as and when we need to recruit more nurses, and if those nurses aren't available in Wales, absolutely, if those nurses want to come and work with us here in Wales from India, then we will welcome them, because they are helping us out here in Wales. The same as we have a number of Nigerian and Filipino nurses and carers working in the system, helping our loved ones, and we should show gratitude for the work that they do.
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The Member is absolutely right that we've seen a number of reports into maternity units and midwifery here in Wales that do highlight unsafe staffing levels and we have to get to grips with this. I'm glad that, for instance, recently, we've seen a new report by Audit Wales into Swansea bay show a significant improvement there, and that's to be welcomed. That's what we want to see, more improvement in those fields. Once again, for fear of repeating myself, I'll say that the issues that we have with graduates this year lies with the fact that they started on their courses back in 2022 and it's a legacy of the previous Government we are now having to deal with. That is why I got that graduate summit together in order to bring together the RCM, HEIW and the health boards to try and find as many positions available as possible for those students, to make sure that those students who aren't midwives now do become full midwives when the time allows and when positions allow, and that we ensure that this doesn't happen again in the future.
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Health boards are responsible for the planning and delivery of health services at a local level to meet the needs of their local population, working with their key stakeholders and partners.
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I understand the strength of feeling around the Maesteg Community Hospital. I expect any service change to be developed transparently with local people in line with national guidance and underpinned by robust evidence, options appraisals and impact assessments. I'm clear that services must be safe, sustainable and fit for purpose for the local population. In its preferred option for the development of a new health and well-being centre, the health board has highlighted that there will be an increased level and increased range of services available from the new proposed site. This is in addition to closer transport links with a bus stop and railway station in close proximity. The health board has also committed to undertake further collaborative work on the Maesteg hospital building to ensure it is not lost. I understand that the board has requested an engagement plan on this to be presented at the July board meeting this month, in addition to an update on the plan for community beds within the Bridgend council area, and I have already met with the chair of Cwm Taf health board in order to discuss these.
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Thank you for that question, and it reflects the strength of feeling in the Llynfi valley and other parts that are being served by the Maesteg hospital. And I understand that there are concerns around it; that's why I had that conversation with the chair of the health board in order to raise those concerns, concerns which have been raised in this Chamber, which I raised with the chair, making sure that they understood that that continued engagement is absolutely crucial, that they take on board the views of the residents, that we do get assurances that any decisions made are made by clinicians and are clinically led, and consider the distances of travel and the difficulty for some people to access some services in the area. So, we have to make sure, and health boards, especially when they present plans, have to make sure that these things are considered in the round and to the fullest possible extent in order to come to a decision.
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The health board has not yet made any decisions on its clinical services plan or any options for potential public consultation later this year, as this work remains under development. As part of the clinical services plan development process, the health board has been undertaking wider initial engagement across Powys over the last year, to help understand the strengths and weaknesses of current service provision and help inform and develop a future vision, potential models of care and options for change. The clinical services plan will be a vital plan in delivering new ways of working that address critical service fragilities, ensuring services remain safe, sustainable, accessible and of high quality, which will have to be supported by evidence. The Welsh Government expects any service change to be developed transparently with local people in line with national guidance and underpinned by robust evidence, options appraisals and impact assessments to ensure services remain safe, sustainable and fit for purpose.
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Diolch am y cwestiwn. Rydyn ni’n gwybod bod rhieni sydd yn y sefyllfa hon yn aml yn wynebu sawl rhwystr i ddychwelyd i’r gwaith, a’r rhesymau hynny’n rhyng-gysylltiedig yn aml. Mae ein rhaglen Cymunedau am Waith a Mwy yn darparu mentor un-i-un i helpu rhieni i gael gafael ar becyn o gymorth a dolen gyswllt â rhwydweithiau lleol, er mwyn delio ag anghenion cyflogaeth yn ogystal ag amgylchiadau teuluol ehangach.
Official English translation
Thank you for the question. We know that parents in this situation often face multiple and interconnected barriers to returning to work. Our Communities for Work Plus programme provides a one-to-one mentor to help parents to access a package of support and links into local networks, to address both employment needs and wider family circumstances.
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I'd like to echo those sentiments put forward by the Member and thank the Member for bringing this to my attention. I welcome the research of Cardiff and Vale University Health Board on this issue. Clearly, the findings are sobering and shed new light on the insidious interrelationship between poor health and socioeconomics. We often talk about the social determinants of health and how they contribute to inequalities in health outcomes, but this study underlines that this dynamic can work both ways, whereby health conditions can, in and of themselves, lead to a deterioration in socioeconomic circumstances. We are committed to getting to grips with health-based inequalities. The Member will be aware that there is a first 100 days action on reviewing health-based inequalities in Wales, and I look forward to updating the Chamber on the findings. In the meantime, while the NHS does provide support packages to help families deal with a diagnosis and learn to manage their condition, including regular out-patient care by specialists, education programmes and technological solutions to reduce the burden of delivering insulin and monitoring glucose control, the evidence from the CVUHB research clearly shows that we must go further to strengthen these support mechanisms. I would welcome further engagement with both the Member and the researchers to understand how we can use these findings to learn, adapt and improve.
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The Welsh Government is working with NHS Wales to make the most of existing technology to improve access to care. This includes strengthening the NHS Wales app, supporting virtual appointments and making use of ambient voice technology. Health boards and trusts are held to account on their performance to deliver patient outcomes and are expected to use existing technology as an enabler.
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I thank the Member for bringing this to my attention. It seems to be another case of one of the pieces of best practice that we have in parts of health boards across Wales that just isn't realised or isn't shared, or sits on a shelf somewhere. We need to learn from any piece of good practice out there and ensure that it's rolled out. So, I will raise this with the health board. I'm happy to keep you in the loop on any response I get back, because if it's good and it works, then we need to ensure that others benefit from it.
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Diolch, Ddirprwy Lywydd. Yn y Senedd ddiwethaf, roeddwn i'n aelod o'r Pwyllgor Iechyd a Gofal Cymdeithasol a gynhaliodd yr ymchwiliad i offthalmoleg, ac mi glywais i’n uniongyrchol am yr heriau mae gormod o bobl yn eu profi. Mi wnaeth yr adroddiad 17 o argymhellion, a’r rheini’n ymwneud â llywodraethant, gweithredu, y gweithlu, trawsnewid digidol, diogelwch cleifion, data, cyflenwi gwasanaethau a seilwaith. Roedd yn cydnabod bod y strategaeth glinigol genedlaethol ar gyfer offthalmoleg yn gosod y cyfeiriad cywir ond nad oedd y gwaith gweithredu na chyflymder y trawsnewid yn ddigonol. Dwi’n benderfynol o newid hyn. Dwi’n cydnabod y pwysau sydd ar wasanaethau offthalmoleg, ac mae’r amseroedd aros sydd wedi’u hetifeddu oddi wrth y weinyddiaeth flaenorol yn llawer rhy hir. Mae lleihau arosiadau yn un o flaenoriaethau’r Llywodraeth hon yn syth. Dwi eisiau cydnabod y staff ymroddedig sy'n gweithio yn y gwasanaethau hyn—rhai ohonyn nhw y tu ôl i fi. Dydy’r angen i gryfhau capasiti'r gweithlu ddim wedi cael y sylw mae'n ei haeddu. Mae'r galw am wasanaethau gofal llygaid yn debygol o gynyddu'n sylweddol dros y degawd nesaf wrth i'n poblogaeth heneiddio, a bydd hynny’n ei gwneud yn gynyddol anodd i ddarparu mynediad amserol i wasanaethau arbenigol os byddwn ni’n parhau i wneud pethau yn yr un ffordd. Mae yna agwedd ataliol i hyn hefyd, gan fod cyfnodau hir o aros am driniaeth gofal llygaid yn gallu cynyddu costau a gwaethygu cyflyrau, fel y clywsom ni gan Sara Crowley. Ar ddiwedd mis Mai, roedd llwybrau offthalmoleg yn cyfrif am 11 y cant o'r holl lwybrau agored, gyda bron i 150 yn aros mwy na dwy flynedd. Mae hynny’n ormod o bobl yn aros yn rhy hir, a dwi’n benderfynol o leihau'r niferoedd hyn. Yn ein cynllun 100 diwrnod, rydyn ni wedi ymrwymo i adolygu perfformiad yr NHS, gan gynnwys yr effaith mae aros hir yn ei gael ar gleifion.
Official English translation
Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. In the previous Senedd, I was a member of the Health and Social Care Committee, which conducted the inquiry into ophthalmology, and I heard first-hand the challenges experienced by too many people. The report made 17 recommendations, and they related to governance, implementation, the workforce, digital transformation, patient safety, data, service delivery and infrastructure. It acknowledged that the national clinical strategy for ophthalmology was setting the right direction, but that the process of implementation and speed of transformation were insufficient. I am determined to change this. I recognise the pressure on ophthalmology services, and the waiting times inherited from the previous administration are far too long. Reducing waits is one of this Government's immediate priorities. Now, I want to recognise the committed staff working in these services—some of them behind me. The need to strengthen workforce capacity hasn't had the attention it deserves. The demand for eye care services is likely to increase significantly in the next decade as our population ages, which will make it increasingly difficult to provide timely access to specialist services if we continue to do things the same way as before. There's a preventative aspect to this as well, as long waits for eye care treatment can increase costs and worsen conditions, as we heard from Sara Crowley. At the end of May, ophthalmology pathways made up 11 per cent of all open pathways, with over 150 waiting more than two years. That's too many people waiting too long, and I’m determined to reduce these numbers. In our 100-day plan, we've committed to reviewing NHS performance, including the impact that long waiting times are having on patients.
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Sight loss has profound consequences for individuals, families and communities, affecting a person's independence, ability to work, education, mobility, mental well-being and participation in everyday life. Preventing avoidable sight loss is about maintaining independence, reducing health inequalities and enabling people to continue living healthy, fulfilling and productive lives. That is why timely access to eye care remains such an important priority for this Government. The national strategy remains the agreed blueprint for transformation of eye care services. It sets out a model based on regional working, workforce transformation, clinical networks, digital enablement and more effective use of capacity across the whole system. But the challenge has been and is implementation. Patients experience better care only when strategy is translated into delivery. I want a renewed focus on implementation and outcomes. Work is under way to establish a clearer understanding of progress across Wales, identify variation and provide a stronger basis for future delivery. I expect clearer implementation planning so progress can be measured against defined priorities, milestones and expectations. Digital transformation is essential to future success, ensuring that we rectify the mistakes of previous years. Better information sharing and integrated digital services will support safer, more efficient and connected care. We're encouraging health boards to work more collaboratively, building on the regional work already under way across parts of Wales. Working with NHS Wales Performance and Improvement, health boards in Wales are increasing activity. Many organisations are treating six or seven patients on a cataract list as standard, closer to the Getting It Right First Time expectations. This national approach will ensure services benefit from improved capacity and more consistent pathways, supporting timely delivery. We must provide staff with the facilities to do what they do best—to see and treat patients. Our focus remains on building a system that can meet demand sustainably and deliver timely care. We're launching an ambitious programme to expand elective capacity, developing up to 10 surgical hubs across Wales to focus on delivering the high-volume low-complexity procedures to reduce long waits for procedures such as cataract surgery, and it's good to hear cross-party support for this plan. So, I look forward to seeing cross-party support for our supplementary budget in order to achieve this next week. Infrastructure alone is not the solution. Sustainable improvement requires workforce development, service redesign, digital transformation and implementation of the national strategy. Health boards need to share the available resources and work together on a regional basis. One of the strongest examples of service transformation is community optometry. Through Wales General Ophthalmic Services, optometrists with additional postgraduate qualifications are increasingly managing patients closer to home, improving access, allowing hospital services to focus on those with greatest clinical need. This approach is making a difference.
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Mae mwy na 2,000 o episodau gofal bob mis yn cael eu rheoli gan optometryddion rhagnodi annibynnol yn y gymuned, sy’n lleihau galw diangen ar wasanaethau ysbyty a meddygon teulu. Ond mae'n rhaid inni fynd yn bellach. Mae dyfodol gofal llygaid yn gofyn am fwy nag ehangu gwasanaethau ysbyty yn unig. Mae'n golygu creu system integredig, lle mae optometreg ac offthalmoleg yn gweithio efo’i gilydd i ddarparu'r gofal cywir, yn y lle iawn, ar yr adeg iawn. Ond tra bod yna wella sylweddol wedi bod mewn optometreg, rhaid rŵan weld yr un cynnydd a'r un pwyslais ar y gallu offthalmoleg. Mae'r Aelod yn sôn am y posibilrwydd o ddatblygu bwrdd iechyd Cymru gyfan ar gyfer offthalmoleg, a dwi’n deall pam ac yn cytuno bod achos cryf dros leihau cymhlethdod biwrocrataidd a sefydliadol fel mae’n cael ei adlewyrchu ar draws ein hagenda bolisi. Dwi’n cydnabod rhwystredigaeth lwyr yr Aelod. Mae gormod o lithro wedi bod, ac mae'r methiant yma i weithredu'r strategaeth yn arwain at awydd i weld newidiadau cyflym. Dwi'n rhannu'r rhwystredigaeth honno, a dwi wedi ymrwymo i'r gwaith gweithredu. Felly, gadewch i ni weld y gwaith hwnnw cyn ystyried unrhyw beth arall. Un genedl ydyn ni, un NHS, a dwi'n benderfynol o leihau amrywiadau ac anghysondebau rhanbarthol diangen. Fy mlaenoriaeth i yn syth ydy sicrhau bod sefydliadau presennol yr NHS yng Nghymru yn gweithio'n fwy effeithiol gyda'i gilydd i gyflawni'r strategaeth genedlaethol a gwella canlyniadau. Dwi'n croesawu'r diddordeb trawsbleidiol yn y mater yma ac yn bwriadu parhau i drafod gydag Aelodau. Dwi eisiau sicrhau bod y gwaith gweithredu yn symud ymlaen yn gyflym a'n bod ni'n cynnal trosolwg clir o'r cynnydd. Rydyn ni wedi ymrwymo i sicrhau bod pobl yn cael mynediad amserol at ofal o ansawdd da. Roedd adroddiad y pwyllgor yn herio'r Llywodraeth i symud y tu hwnt i gydnabod y broblem a chanolbwyntio ar sicrhau'r datrysiad; dwi'n rhannu'r uchelgais honno. Mae'r weledigaeth gennym ni, rydym ni'n deall yr her ac yn gwybod beth sydd angen ei newid. Rhaid i gam nesaf y gwaith yma rŵan ganolbwyntio ar weithredu ac ar sicrhau gwelliannau mesuradwy i gleifion ledled Cymru. Bydd y Llywodraeth yn atal eu pleidlais, felly, gan ganolbwyntio'n ddiflino ar weithredu y strategaeth genedlaethol a thorri i lawr y ffiniau rhwng y byrddau iechyd, a dwi'n hapus i weithio gyda'r sawl sydd wedi cyflwyno'r cynnig a llefarwyr y gwrthbleidiau er mwyn monitro'r strategaeth. Diolch yn fawr iawn.
Official English translation
Over 2,000 care episodes a month are managed by independent prescribing optometrists in the community, which helps to reduce unnecessary demand on hospital and GP services. But we have to go further. The future of eye care calls for more than just expanding hospital services. It means creating an integrated system, where optometry and ophthalmology work together to provide the right care, in the right place, at the right time. Whilst there's been significant improvement in optometry, we now need to see the same progress and the same emphasis on ophthalmology capacity. The Member talks about the possibility of developing an all-Wales health board for ophthalmology. I understand why he suggests this, and I agree that there’s a strong case for reducing institutional and bureaucratic complexity, as is reflected across our policy agenda. I acknowledge the Member’s complete frustration. There’s been too much slippage, and this failure to implement the strategy has led to an appetite for rapid change. I share that frustration, and I have committed to the task ahead. So, let us see that work bearing fruit before we consider anything else. We are one nation, one NHS, and I'm determined to reduce unnecessary regional variations and inconsistencies. My immediate priority is to ensure that current NHS organisations in Wales work together more effectively to deliver the national strategy and to improve outcomes. I welcome the cross-party interest in this area and intend to have further discussions with Members. I want to ensure that implementation proceeds swiftly and that we have a clear overview of progress. We are committed to ensuring that people have timely access to good quality care. The committee report challenged the Government to move beyond acknowledging the problem to focus on providing a solution; I share that ambition. We have the vision, we understand the challenge and we know what needs to change. The next step must be to concentrate on action and on ensuring measurable outcomes for patients the length and breadth of Wales. This Government will be abstaining, therefore, and focusing tirelessly on implementing the national strategy and breaking down the barriers between the health boards, and I'm happy to work with everyone who's put forward the motion and opposition spokespeople to monitor the strategy. Thank you.
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