00:00to move the motion.
00:02Dear Deputy Presiding Officer and I move the motion
00:04tabled in the name of my colleague Paul Davies.
00:06Today we're debating an issue
00:08that should never have become the norm
00:10in Welsh hospitals. Corridor
00:12care. We've all seen
00:14the harrowing reports, we've
00:16all read the shocking testimonies
00:18and more importantly we all
00:20know that this is a crisis that
00:22can no longer be ignored.
00:24A crisis where patients
00:26mothers, fathers,
00:28grandparents are left waiting in
00:30chairs for hours and sometimes
00:32days waiting for a bed.
00:34A crisis where ambulance
00:36crews spend hours parked outside
00:38hospitals because there simply
00:40isn't enough space inside
00:42and when they get inside they're
00:44left waiting in corridors.
00:46A crisis where doctors
00:48and nurses despite their dedication
00:50and tireless efforts are being
00:52pushed beyond breaking point.
00:54Describing their workplaces
00:56as war zones with patients
00:58placed everywhere.
01:00This is a national
01:02disgrace.
01:04And let me be absolutely clear
01:06this is not the fault
01:08of our heroic NHS staff
01:10who do a phenomenal job
01:12under extreme circumstances.
01:14They are the ones holding
01:16this broken system together.
01:18This is a problem
01:20of a failure of political
01:22leadership, a failure of
01:24planning and a failure to
01:26invest in where it matters most.
01:28We can fix the
01:30crisis in corridor care
01:32but it requires real leadership
01:34real investment
01:36and a real plan. Working
01:38with the sector to develop the plans
01:40needed for change.
01:42The Royal College of Nursing
01:44has provided a clear
01:46practical road map to tackle
01:48corridor care and I commend them
01:50for their work in this area.
01:52Their report is not about quick
01:54fixes or shifting blame,
01:56it's about delivering real change.
01:58Change that will improve
02:00patient care and support our
02:02NHS workforce as we
02:04transition to an NHS
02:06in the future fit for purpose.
02:08The first step is
02:10ensuring dignity in care.
02:12Corridor care should never
02:14have been allowed to happen
02:16and we must never ever
02:18tolerate it. And this
02:20means making it a never event.
02:22Something so
02:24unacceptable that it must
02:26never happen. It means
02:28ensuring no patient is
02:30left in a chair for 24 hours
02:32left without proper monitoring
02:34without access to essential
02:36equipment and left without
02:38even basic dignity.
02:40It means recognising
02:42this is not just about
02:44accepting that this is the new normal
02:46and this is what we have to accept
02:48This is about patient
02:50safety because nurses
02:52and doctors have told us
02:54patients deteriorate in corridors
02:56and we must act.
02:58Patients struggle without oxygen
03:00without privacy
03:02some have even died while waiting
03:04for care. This is
03:06unacceptable. If we
03:08are serious about ending corridor care
03:10we must also free up
03:12hospital capacity. We must
03:14pause the reduction in hospital beds
03:16and conduct a national review
03:18of NHS capacity.
03:20Now let me be crystal clear
03:22this is not about blindly
03:24increasing bed numbers
03:26or making unrealistic promises
03:28to the electorate. That would be
03:30irresponsible and not something
03:32that a government in waiting, which we
03:34are, would do. It's
03:36about ensuring we have enough beds
03:38in the right places to meet demand
03:40but we also need to speed
03:42up hospital discharge.
03:44Right now many beds are occupied
03:46by people and patients who no
03:48longer need hospital care
03:50but have nowhere else to go.
03:52Why? Because social
03:54care is underfunded, under
03:56staffed and unable to take patients
03:58when they're ready to leave.
04:00The result, patients stuck in hospital
04:02beds when they could have been better
04:04cared for elsewhere.
04:06So we need to invest in social care
04:08not just for their dignity
04:10but to fix the entire system
04:12and we need a national
04:14conversation about how we do this
04:16as the social care system in its current
04:18form doesn't work
04:20and it's unfair to those individuals
04:22who paid into their system the
04:24whole life with the threat of losing everything
04:26to access social care.
04:28But none of these real
04:30reforms that are needed to fix the system
04:32will work unless we support
04:34our NHS workforce.
04:36Our healthcare workers are
04:38the backbone of our NHS
04:40yet too often they're being overworked
04:42undervalued and forced
04:44to work in unsafe conditions.
04:46The Royal College of Nurses
04:48report makes clear we need more
04:50senior clinical decision makers
04:52on the weekends so patients
04:54can be discharged faster, reducing
04:56delays and we also need
04:58more district nurses and
05:00community care teams
05:02so the patients can be treated
05:04at home instead of taking up hospital
05:06beds unnecessarily.
05:08And we also need to look at our
05:10cottage hospital estate across Wales
05:12because a lot of those patients need
05:14step down care. We've seen far
05:16too many cottage hospitals close
05:18under this Welsh Labour government.
05:20That isn't good enough and we need to look at that
05:22again.
05:24And we need to foster a culture
05:26where the NHS staff feel
05:28safe to raise concerns
05:30without fear of repercussions
05:32because when our nurses and doctors speak
05:34out we must listen
05:36and we must also demand
05:38smarter planning and investment.
05:40There is no excuses for bureaucratic
05:42barriers that prevent patients from
05:44getting the care when they need it.
05:46The NHS in Wales must be able to
05:48safely divert patients to neighbouring services
05:50when necessary.
05:52That will help ease and stop
05:54corridor care and we must
05:56also ensure our NHS is properly
05:58resourced to deliver the six goals
06:00for urgent and emergency care
06:02so that fewer patients end up in corridors
06:04in the first place.
06:06We can fix this
06:08but it will take leadership,
06:10investment and an unshakeable
06:12commitment to patient safety.
06:14And let me also be very clear
06:16I don't believe this is a
06:18funding issue. Over half
06:20of the Welsh government budget is
06:22spent in health. Wales
06:24is part of the sixth largest economy
06:26in the world. There is money
06:28in the system but it's not being
06:30spent in the areas where it matters.
06:32The Labour government here
06:34has chose to waste millions of pounds
06:36on projects that aren't
06:38the priorities of the Welsh people
06:40and they've not monitored
06:42increased funding amounts to the NHS
06:44properly. And as a result
06:46of mismanagement and wrong priorities
06:48what does this mean?
06:50Patients waiting for days in hospital
06:52corridors, ambulance crews stuck
06:54outside our hospitals and nurses
06:56and clinicians pushed beyond breaking
06:58point. And I say to the people of
07:00Wales this. You should not accept
07:02corridor care as normal.
07:04It's not right. It's not
07:06normal. It's not
07:08unavoidable. And it doesn't
07:10have to be this way.
07:12This is a political choice
07:14and it's about political
07:16priorities. And after
07:1825 years of Labour control
07:20corridor care is the reality
07:22of their record in office.
07:24But we can make a difference.
07:26We can make different choices
07:28We can make different choices.
07:30It's time to fix
07:32Wales. It's time to
07:34fix the NHS.
07:36It's time to end corridor care.
07:38That's what we'll be fighting
07:40for. We won't tinker
07:42around the edges like this government has done.
07:44We will take the big decisions
07:46necessary to fix our NHS
07:48because no patient
07:50should ever have to be treated in a corridor
07:52again. And I will tell you
07:54under a Welsh Conservative government
07:56that will never, ever happen.
Comments