I was pleased to lead the Plaid Cymru debate on the NHS workforce yesterday, and have the chance to pay tribute to hard-working NHS staff, and to call on government to implement an effective and sustainable workforce plan for the Welsh NHS. Here is part of my speech, or you can watch the full debate here: http://www.senedd.tv/Meeting/Archive/363db281-e76b-49d4-b4b3-3d28a9257192?startPos=13026&autostart=True

“One of our most valuable treasures, which is appreciated over and above every other public service in Wales, I’m sure I’m right in saying, is the health service, the NHS, and the most valuable resource of the NHS is its workforce—those people who, through a combination of their skills and their commitment, ensure that each and every one of us can get the best possible care when we need it most. One of the greatest duties that the Welsh Government has is to ensure that that workforce gets the support necessary, is planned properly so that we have the right people in the right places with the right skills in order to care for patients, and so there are sufficient numbers of people encouraged to come into the health service, and that they are getting the best possible training to make it a sustainable service for the future.”

Here is my speech in the Assembly today on the Plaid Cymru budget deal, which will mean that funding for Supporting People programmes will be maintained.

I’m proud that we’ve come to this agreement for the sake of supporting people. Holding Labour to account as an effective opposition, whilst making real gains for those who need it most.

I’m still pushing for a Medical Education Centre in north Wales – it would be beneficial for patients and a long term investment. Here was my question to the Finance Secretary yesterday about invest-to-save principles:

Rhun ap Iorwerth
I would like to suggest to the Cabinet Secretary that investing in developing medical education at an undergraduate level on a comprehensive level in north Wales—that is, including first-year students, and all the way through their studies—would be an excellent example of implementing the principles of invest-to-save. We know that Betsi Cadwaladr health board spent £80 million on locums over the past three years, and somehow we must break that vicious cycle, and investing in training doctors locally would be a huge contribution towards that. We not talking about a full, independent medical school here; that may come in due time, of course. But, whilst there are all sorts of reasons as to why this development is needed, although the Government doesn’t seem to understand that to date—but to the finance Secretary specifically, I appeal to him to recognise this and to see this as an example of sensible investment now in order to create long-term benefits.
 
Mark Drakeford
Well, Deputy Presiding Officer, I hear the case the Member is making and I acknowledge what he says about the way in which the money is spent in north Wales at present. He will be eager to know, I’m certain, that a meeting was held this morning with the Secretary with responsibility for health to discuss the developments in north Wales.

Part of my speech during the debate on the Health Committee’s report into medical recruitment in the Assembly yesterday:

“Here we have a well-evidenced call for the establishment of a new medical education centre in Bangor. Of course there’ll be barriers, but those barriers will never be overcome as long as this Government appears unwilling to push the boundaries of the possible. We have, in this report, a very worrying picture—let’s be honest—of where we are at with medical training and recruitment in Wales. But the committee doesn’t then conclude that those problems can’t be overcome. We put forward solutions—imperfect, no doubt—but see them as a challenge. When it comes to equipping our future NHS with enough doctors, when it comes to tackling the number of medical vacancies that we have all over Wales, and how to enthuse pupils, empower our young people to aspire to be doctors working in their communities right across Wales, and helping them to be able to study here if they wish to do so, patients in Wales need to know that the job is in hand. We need to see that from Welsh Government. We need to see it soon.”

“May I first of all welcome the interim report, as it is very thorough and shows a great deal of research and consultation? It gives us a great deal of detail on the state and challenges facing the NHS and the care sector in Wales today, but we must also say that the findings aren’t ones that should surprise us too much. What we have is a picture of financial pressures, demographic pressures, mixed with poor workforce planning, underperformance and a lack of integration between health and social care. We see clearly the excellence that exists among the professional staff of the NHS and the care sector but also see the stress and pressures they face as they try and work to the greatest of their ability.
 
“Now, the evidence is already clear, therefore, although this is an interim report, that we cannot continue as we are. That also means that we should cease saying that the UK Government can continue with austerity policies whilst the Welsh Government continues to put pressures on local authority funding and social care and that that isn’t going to have a truly detrimental impact on the ability to provide health and care services as people would expect and would deserve.
 
“It’s clear from the report that health service funding needs to increase as needs increase among the population, but that we also need to invest more in social care, and we do know that the demands on the services are going to increase, although the scale of that increase will depend on how this Government responds to these various challenges—obesity, for example, and the need to encourage healthier lifestyles. There are other elements too: the quality of housing, the environment and, of course, cuts in the welfare state, when the weakest in our society are being squeezed by the cruellest policies. We know that homelessness is on the increase, that suicide is on the increase and that the use of health services is also on the increase. Therefore, the case for change is strong and a change in the way that Governments, both here and in London, look at and support the whole ecosystem surrounding health and care services and social support services.
 
“I could refer to some specific elements that are highlighted in this report—workforce planning, for example. Improved workforce planning is attainable if we see the Government taking the appropriate steps, such as introducing a centre for medical education in Bangor and encouraging more young people from Wales, from various backgrounds, including the more disadvantaged backgrounds, to study medicine. It does mean that those necessary steps have to be taken to increase the number of nurses that we train and to provide the support that those trainee nurses need to make this a profession that remains attractive to them.
 
“The report highlights the scope to use technology to provide alternative ways—better and, very often, cheaper ways—of treating patients, but that does mean having services and health and care institutions that are flexible and can respond to new developments. Some of those developments, which are emerging very quickly, will be truly revolutionary, and we in Wales cannot be left behind. So, there are significant challenges, but also significant opportunities.
 
“We have major challenges ahead of us, but real opportunities too, if Wales has the ambition and has the positivity to take advantage of those opportunities, rather than pretend our job is to manage a decline and moan about things that we can’t do anything about. It’s about Welsh Government, more specifically, showing that it is ready to step up to the plate. A core problem, the elephant in the room, is this: Labour in Government has always run the NHS since the people of Wales decided to devolve it nearly exactly 20 years ago. Wales cannot afford any longer to have a Government refusing to admit to the depths of some of the NHS’s and the care sector’s problems, because to do so would be to admit that they are responsible for those problems. The people of Wales need to see a real gear change in how Welsh Government runs health and social care in Wales and thinks about the delivery of health and social care in Wales. We have an interim report now highlighting some of the main challenges. We will soon have a completed review and, hopefully, a set of recommendations that can spur some real action.”

Unfortunately, I couldn’t be at the People’s March for EU in London over the weekend, but here is the video I prepared for the event: