North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has called for Welsh Government action to help address the shortage of qualified nurses providing children’s palliative care in the voluntary sector.
Mr Isherwood raised the matter in the Senedd during this week’s Business Statement, when he called for a Welsh Government Statement regarding the provision of nurses for children with life-shortening conditions.
He said;
“The charity ‘Together for Short Lives’ has launched a new campaign, ‘You Can Be That Nurse’, to encourage more nurses to work with children with life-shortening conditions. They refer to evidence showing a shortage of qualified nurses providing children’s palliative care in the voluntary sector, including children’s hospices, and that this is having a negative impact for children with life-shortening conditions, not just across the UK, but Wales also. They say that as part of the campaign they are asking the Welsh Government and healthcare workforce planners to take action to bring the average nursing vacancy rate among voluntary sector children’s palliative care organisations to below 10 per cent and closer to the NHS nurse vacancy rate across the UK. A call on the Welsh Government, which merits a response from the Welsh Government, and we would welcome a statement accordingly.”
The Leader of the House, Jane Hutt AM, failed to respond to the point raised by Mr Isherwood.
He said: “I regret that the Leader of the House made no reference to the voluntary sector despite the call by the Together for Short Lives campaign being specific to that.”