00:00The people that I represent in West Wales have seen a steady and deeply concerning pattern from Hualdai University Health
00:06Board
00:06and that's the gradual centralisation of vital services away from the communities and people that rely on them.
00:13Services have been downgraded, transferred or reconfigured against the will of the very people that these services are meant for.
00:20Each time the Health Board takes a service away from the local hospital and moves it further eastwards, it has
00:26been presented as necessary.
00:27And yet taken together, they tell a clear story that the Health Board wants to pull services further away from
00:33West Wales
00:34and centralise them at Glangwyli Hospital in Carmarthen.
00:38The latest centralisation proposals has been the removal of emergency general surgery at Withybush Hospital
00:43and a shake-up of stroke services across Mid and West Wales.
00:48Now, removing emergency general surgery is not a minor adjustment.
00:51It's a fundamental change that will have huge consequences for patients and increased travel times in an emergency situation.
01:01And so let me be absolutely clear from the outset.
01:04I oppose the Health Board's decision to remove this service from Withybush Hospital
01:08and I will continue to campaign for the Welsh Government to intervene to stop this from happening.
01:15When minutes matter, distance matters.
01:18And I believe that expecting patients to travel further in an emergency situation is not just inconvenient, it's potentially dangerous.
01:27Of course, with a new government in place, the people that I represent have hope for a change of direction.
01:33And given that the party of government campaigned on these issues during the election
01:37and made it clear just how dangerous centralising emergency general surgery is,
01:42it's frustrating that there hasn't already been action from the Welsh Government on this issue.
01:47The Welsh Government has both the authority and the responsibility to intervene
01:52and the people that I represent understandably want to know why action hasn't already been taken.
01:58The people of Ceredigion-Pembroke deserve clarity, transparency and accountability.
02:04And above all that, they deserve safe, accessible healthcare closer to their homes.
02:10Now, for years, the previous government did nothing while the Health Board removed service after service from Withybush Hospital.
02:16And I sincerely hope that this government will not go down the same route.
02:21And it's not just emergency general surgery that is at risk.
02:24As I said earlier, stroke services are also under threat too.
02:28The Health Board is consulting on plans to downgrade stroke services to treat and transfer models at Brongleis and Withybush
02:34hospitals.
02:35And if the Health Board follows through with its plans, it will mean that patients with acute stroke symptoms
02:41will have to travel significant distances for critical care.
02:45This is not right and it's not acceptable.
02:48It's another example of the Health Board centralising care in Carmarthen at the expense of communities further west.
02:55The Health Board and the Welsh Government must accept the fact that delivering health services in rural areas is different
03:02to delivering services in more urban settings.
03:06That's why we need to see an appropriate planning framework that recognises that patient services are based on a geographical
03:13spread,
03:14not just determined by population.
03:16And the Cabinet Minister himself is on record in this chamber, saying that he has grave concerns about the proposals.
03:25He argued that the Health Board's proposals would lead to real harm, not only to patients in the Huwildar Health
03:32Board area,
03:32but also to people living further north of Brongleis and indeed to the west.
03:36He rightly said that the Health Board's plans must be rethought with genuine regional collaboration,
03:43with a patient focus, specialist leadership and a commitment to care that's close to home.
03:49Now that's pretty strong words and the people of West Wales expect the Welsh Government to stand by them.
03:56And let's not forget that the Stroke Association has also made it clear that it does not support proposals,
04:03saying that they risk undermining specialist-led treatment, fragmenting services and increasing health inequalities across Wales.
04:12They have urged the Health Board to reconsider these proposals and work collaboratively to deliver safe, effective and patient-centred
04:23stroke services.
04:24So, Llywedd, our rural hospitals need serious investment.
04:29And by delivering that, the Government would be sending a statement that helps attract doctors and other professionals to the
04:35area.
04:35But in the first instance, the Welsh Government needs to urgently intervene to stop the Health Board from removing any
04:42further services from Withybush and Brongleis hospitals.
04:45And so I urge the Cabinet Minister to do what his predecessors have actually failed to do.
04:52Stand up to Huwildhau University Health Board and stand up for the people of Mid and West Wales.
04:57Yeah, yeah, yeah.
04:58Anna Nicol.
05:00Alright....
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