Kirsty Williams slams WAG for spinning old money as new (Kirsty Williams AM )

Cymraeg
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Kirsty Williams AM <info@kirstywilliams.org.uk>

Kirsty Williams slams WAG for spinning old money as new

June 17, 2009 12:00 AM

Kirsty Williams, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats has strongly criticised the Labour-Plaid government for giving false hope to neonatal care as they re-announce old money as new money in response to a debate on neonatal care by the Welsh Lib Dems.

The Labour-Plaid government have said that they will invest an additional £4 million over two years from 2009-10 to deliver the priorities for Neonatal Services, although this is an old announcement made back in October 2008.

Leader, Kirsty Williams who will today launch a report along with Sands, the stillbirth and neonatal death charity and lead a debate on the poor provision of neonatal care in Wales said:

"I find it disgraceful that the Labour-Plaid government think that they can brush this issue under the media carpet and spin good news about old funding before a debate in the Assembly on neonatal care in Wales.

"The £4 million announced last October didn't come even close to addressing the problems facing antenatal and neonatal care services in Wales. Re-announcing the £4 million ahead of this debate shows that this Labour-Plaid government is not dedicated to providing decent care for vulnerable babies and their parents in Wales.

"This is yet another example of this government putting their spinning machine in operation to reduce bad press at the expense of those people who desperately need care."

Ends.

NDM4243 Peter Black (South Wales West)

The National Assembly for Wales

1. Notes that:

a) the number of babies needing care in neonatal units is increasing;

b) there is a worrying shortage of nursing and medical staff to care for these babies;

c) there is no system for coordinating the care and transport of babies around neonatal units in Wales;

2. Calls on the Welsh Assembly Government to:

a) commit to a long-term recruitment strategy to ensure that there are adequate numbers of neonatal nurses, midwives and neonatal consultants to meet the needs of the Welsh population;

b) deliver a dedicated neonatal transport system that can move babies and their families when necessary.

The following amendments have been tabled:

Amendment 1 - Carwyn Jones (Bridgend)

Delete all after point 1a) and replace with:

"2. Welcomes the actions of the Welsh Assembly Government to:

a) publish All Wales Standards for Neonatal Services;

b) invest an additional £4 million over two years from 2009-10 to deliver the priorities for Neonatal Services;

c) implement a dedicated neonatal transport system across Wales, develop clinical networks to improve the care of babies needing specialist treatment, develop a clinical information system and recruit additional nursing and medical staff to strengthen the service."