Having had the misfortune to have to travel to the A&E department of The Grange hospital and sit there for a long period of time made me wonder, do any of our Senedd members, especially the Labour ones, ever have to use the A&E themselves?

If they did, I’m sure they would want to have another look at this “flagship” hospital that is less than three years old and wonder how this much-heralded ‘state of the art’ building is already wanting in a number of areas.

I was sat opposite people from Blaenavon who had already spent a number of hours at Ysbyty before it closed as I was not aware that Ysbyty Aneurin Bevan has a Minor Injury Unit which only opens 9am-7pm Monday to Friday and is closed weekends and bank holidays.

Although the Royal Gwent Hospital, Nevill Hall Hospital and Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr have 24/7 Minor Injury Units, it’s not much use if you’re over 60 having chest pains, as I did, as they cannot treat you.

I was one of the ‘lucky’ ones as given my age and my condition, I was treated sooner than some, although the initial wait after triage was still 6 hours, with another four in AMU (Acute Medical Unit).

Now I have every admiration for the nurses and the other healthcare support workers who work under incredible strain, especially on a Friday (and I’m sure a Saturday) night shift when there are a mixture of people with young children to police officers with handcuffed detainees (for want of a better word).

But I just wondered, sitting there as you do, if any Senedd members ever do this? Do they have a private healthcare package as part of their position? Or do they have to queue alongside their voters?

It’s a genuine question as if I ever ran a business, I would want to know how it works from the ground up so I can see what needs to be fixed.

Now I did read, while convalescing at home, that Sir Keir Starmer sees the Welsh government as providing a “blueprint for what Labour can do across the UK”.

Now given the possibility that he may well form the next UK government, I really would like him to reassess that vision and maybe even spend 6 hours waiting in our A&E with chest pains wondering whether it’s the start of a heart attack, a lung problem (apparently it can be, I didn’t know) or just an acid reflux.

And if it’s true that a new children’s centre is to be built at The Grange, will that mean the children’s centre at Abergavenny will close as did the A&E dept?

Then we will all have to travel out of county for our health and welfare services in future.

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