Following wide consultation I very much welcome the recent statement by the Health Minister announcing the completion of the Rural Health Plan. A Plaid policy, the plan aims to address the challenges faced in ensuring that people have appropriate healthcare - particularly in sparsely populated communities. This is the first of its kind in Wales and its development delivers a key One Wales commitment and also marks an important step in improving rural health and rural health services in Wales. The Rural Health Plan is something that we as a party have been campaigning on for a long time and it’s pleasing to see that another One Wales commitment is being delivered. As a result, we want to be able to deliver as many services as possible locally where they can be provided safely and effectively. I think patients accept that travel will still be required for the more highly specialised services but at the moment even some of the more routine services aren’t available locally in our rural areas.

We need to integrate services and fully utilise the skills of all rural NHS staff which will enable us to improve care for patients and provide more career opportunities for staff.

It’s important now to move ahead with the plan . An implementation group is being set up early this year to take the practical work of the Rural Health Plan forward.