20 September 2022 , Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
… cost-of-pain crisis within our NHS. Many people, sadly, in orthopaedics are waiting for procedures for a considerable amount of time , some as long as two years and more. We heard from you in July that there …
17 September 2025 , Health and Social Care Committee
Inquiry into the future of general practice in Wales: evidence session
… bits of work, and we had a bit of time . We had time to discuss interesting cases, or to have a chat in the waiting room with a patient. It was a wonderful, wonderful day, a beautiful job … That's how general practice was when I first became a GP—you just had a bit of time to pick up the phone and say, 'How are you after that operation?', or, 'Are you okay, having had …
21 March 2023 , Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
… dominate my inbox. One of my constituents living with osteoporosis and five broken vertebrae has had to wait two years to be seen by a pain specialist. We are still awaiting the final decision on the location … completed until the end of this decade at the earliest. Until that time , what action is your Government taking to ensure that waiting lists are tackled and constituents such as mine are not forced to wait over …
9 March 2022 , Local Government and Housing Committee
Inquiry into second homes: evidence session 6—second home owners
… number of questions they want to get on to, and we're limited with time —there are 60,000 people on the waiting lists for social housing in Wales. Do you think it's right that we have …
13 January 2022 , Health and Social Care Committee
Impact of waiting times backlog on people who are waiting for diagnosis or treatment: evidence session with The Royal College of Surgeons of England and The King's Fund
… into what is not being done, still. So, what measures, at this point in time , are not in place to support people waiting for treatment across Wales …
8 June 2022 , Plenary
Short Debate: Hidden issues affecting deaf people and those suffering hearing loss
… social isolation, loneliness, mental ill health, dementia, and these conditions then give further rise to other health issues. Waiting more than 14 months for an assessment and hearing aids is no trivial matter if you are 80 years … depression. What stands out even further is that, if there is a timely diagnosis, then declining cognitive function can be stopped, so the 14-month waiting list to access audiology services, without a doubt, is harming people …
12 July 2023 , Plenary
Topical Questions
… the availability of scrutiny today and a written statement in term time . If I’d wanted to avoid this, I could have simply waited another day, and that’s not the choice that I made. Every now and …
16 September 2025 , Plenary
& 10. The general principles of the Bus Services (Wales) Bill and the financial resolution in respect of the Bus Services (Wales) Bill
Hallelujah, we have a bus Bill—much delayed, but worth waiting for. This Bill is a big deal and, in time , it will make a big difference. Buses carry 75 per cent of all public transport journeys, but …
16 September 2025 , Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
… estimate. Why have you allowed house building in Wales to collapse at a time when there are 94,000 households on a housing waiting list, and what are you going to do about …
19 October 2022 , Health and Social Care Committee
Dentistry - evidence session with Community Dental Services and Welsh Committee of Community Dentists
… they've hired people to come in and manage their waiting lists. Cardiff and Vale has 14,000 on there. Rob knows his numbers, but last time I checked with them it was about 1,000. What happens … because everyone is independent and everyone is using different software, health boards are only just starting the central waiting lists, which is helping. And we take patients from the health board in my own practice, but I have …
7 January 2025 , Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
… more difficult to provide those packages of care. So, there are lots of reasons why this time of the year is more difficult, but what I can tell you is that, since the last critical incident with the … significant role, and the abandonment rate, which means that people have been waiting for too long, effectively, that is significantly lower, three times lower now than it was last year. So, much, much better performance there …
13 January 2022 , Health and Social Care Committee
Impact of waiting times backlog on people who are waiting for diagnosis or treatment: evidence session with The Royal College of Surgeons of England and The King's Fund
… possible, but, unfortunately, it’s taking a heck of a long time , currently. We need people actually looking after the patients as they wait , don’t we? Psychological support, pain support and …
13 January 2026 , Plenary
The general principles of the Mental Health Review Tribunal for Wales (Membership) Bill
… been taken by the state. If the tribunal cannot sit, people are left waiting , sometimes detained in hospitals, sometimes under other restrictions, without the timely , lawful, independent scrutiny the law intends. So, we will approach this Bill constructively …
25 October 2022 , Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
… Wales—because he required both hips to be done—he could expect a four to five-year wait for those procedures to be undertaken. He had to access his own private savings to go to a clinic … procedure undertaken. Now, I can't get a commitment out on GP response times , I can't get a commitment on two-year waits out of you; what is the advice I should tell my constituents, like Richard …
15 January 2025 , Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: NHS waiting times
… factors as well. And the Cabinet Secretary's response, and I'm grateful for the response, but at times it sounds like this Government is once again in complete denial about what's going on in Wales, out … you were only getting started. If ramping up waiting lists is only getting started, then I dread to think where our NHS will be in a few years' time . Every time a new First Minister comes into force …
12 October 2022 , Plenary
Debate on the Health and Social Care Committee Report: Hospital discharge and its impact on patient flow through hospitals
… hospitals need a step-down bed; there are simply none available. So, they are waiting on wards, some for really long periods of time , where it is not the best place for them, as we've heard from … from speaking with many community nurses, how much they rely on Care and Repair to assist with recovery time at home and to ensure that patients are safe during and after leaving hospital. Bridgend has also relied …
7 January 2025 , Plenary
Statement by the First Minister: Delivering for Wales
… having to take their own teeth out. GPs don’t have enough time with their patients because there aren’t enough of them. Patients are waiting in beds in hospitals needlessly because there is no care in the …
25 April 2023 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: The National Diagnostic Strategy
… whole lot of capital equipment that we find will become a stranded asset in a few years' time . Last Thursday, I went on a visit to Cardiff university hospital, where there are some genius women working on liquid … cent of people.FootnoteLink This is a lot of tests, and obviously while you're waiting that is a really, really concerning and troubling time . If we can reduce the demand on the service, through, for example, using blood …
30 June 2025 , Equality and Social Justice Committee
Post-legislative scrutiny of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015: Evidence session 3
… establishing the future, that has all been achieved. Yes, you've got to wait for the big outcomes still, but that will take time …
22 January 2025 , Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Cancer services
… equipment. The NHS cannot deliver timely care without the right people and tools. Recruitment in critical care areas must be prioritised, alongside investment in new diagnostic equipment. We cannot expect patients to wait because machines are broken … delivers timely care, not excuses, and a Government that holds itself accountable to the people it serves and does not hide behind bureaucratic structures created by the NHS. Colleagues, we owe it to the patients waiting anxiously for …