Mabon ap Gwynfor criticizes First Minister on handling of NHS in Wales

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00:00to the extreme, and from the Government nothing but repeated empty promises.

00:06The Minister's predecessor made the following announcement back in April.

00:10It's clear that the NHS and reducing waiting times is a top priority for the people of Wales,

00:16and the same is true for us as a Government, he said.

00:19Similarly, upon taking office over the summer, the current First Minister

00:23pledged a refresh in office, with a relentless focus on addressing the backlog.

00:30And yet, since February of this year, NHS waiting lists have hit record highs

00:36for five consecutive months, which now account for almost 20% of our entire population,

00:44a record-breaking Government for all the wrong reasons.

00:49We all understand the scale of the challenges facing our health service.

00:53An ageing population, high rates of long-term sickness,

00:57and the continued fallout from the pandemic, to name but a few.

01:02They have been well rehearsed by several of the Health Minister's predecessors,

01:06and I'm sure we'll hear more of the same in his response.

01:10But the Government would have far more sympathy from the Welsh public

01:14if it was not for their stubborn refusal to learn from their mistakes,

01:18and for missing so many opportunities to show the necessary vision, dynamism and drive

01:25to chart a better future for our NHS.

01:29This was on full display last week, as the First Minister asserted

01:33that cutting waiting lists could be achieved in lieu of structural reform.

01:38It typifies this Government's habit of placing the horse firmly before the cart,

01:43of fixating on the outcomes without actually plotting a credible path to get there.

01:50And by suggesting that health board executives are at fault for high waiting lists,

01:55the First Minister has yet again demonstrated this Government's aptitude

01:59for apportioning blame to everyone but themselves.

02:03It is for this reason we have brought this motion before the Senedd today,

02:08to urge the new—