Councillor calls on Health Minister to resign in school nurse row

Martin Shipton

A Labour town councillor has called on Health Minister Mabon ap Gwynfor to resign because he has failed to ensure that a full-time nurse is appointed to a school that caters for children with special educational needs.

Parents of children attending Ysgol Heol Goffa in Llanelli have run a vigorous campaign aimed at persuading Hywel Dda University Health Board to make such an appointment. They argue that children at the school are potentially dangerously vulnerable, and need the care of a dedicated specialist nurse.

But despite enlisting the support of some local councillors, the health board has resisted the pressure.

Llanelli Labour town councillor Shaun Greaney therefore decided to ask Mr ap Gwynfor to intervene.

Support

Responding to Cllr Greaney’s letter, Mr ap Gwynfor said: “I understand the strength of feeling surrounding this matter and the concerns that have been expressed regarding the support available to children and young people with complex healthcare needs attending the school.

“My officials have worked with Hywel Dda University Health Board, the school and Carmarthenshire County Council to take immediate action to provide additional support to ensure that learners attending the school can continue to have their healthcare needs met safely. I can confirm that staff at Ysgol Heol Goffa who are required to support learners with healthcare needs have received appropriate training and have been assessed as competent to undertake the healthcare procedures they carry out to support well-being and keep learners safe.

“A multi-agency approach to supporting the healthcare needs of children and young people is essential. Education settings, local authorities and local health boards all have responsibilities to support children and young people’s health and well-being and ensure children with complex healthcare needs can attend school and participate fully in a positive, enriching and fulfilling educational experience alongside their peers. The specific arrangements for meeting healthcare needs locally remain a matter for the relevant local authority and health board, working together to ensure appropriate support is in place, in line with current guidance.

“I recognise the need to strengthen how health and education services work together so that oversight, training and responsibilities for supporting the growing number of children and young people with complex healthcare needs are clearly defined and understood. Work is underway to develop new, integrated guidance for education and health partners to support a consistent, safe and equitable approach to meeting the healthcare needs of learners across all settings.

“Our intention is for the new guidance to provide a unified framework that strengthens collaboration, clarifies roles and responsibilities, and supports high-quality provision. It will also set out clear processes for assessing and responding to the healthcare needs of children and young people in schools, outline appropriate escalation pathways, and describe how partners will work together to strengthen governance, improve the handling of concerns, and ensure the workforce has access to required training and support. This guidance will be developed with input from all relevant stakeholders, including children and their families and will be published in 2027.

“I appreciate the concerns you have raised and want to assure you that the safety and well-being of all children and young people will remain paramount as we take this work forward.”

Statement

Cllr Greaney has now issued a statement calling for Mr ap Gwynfor to resign. In it he states: “It is deplorable that the Welsh Health Minister is not acting to ensure children who are so extremely vulnerable are safe.

“Children in similar situations and schools in England do have nursing provision in place, I’m told, so why are Welsh children being treated as second class citizens?

“You would expect Plaid, who make a song and dance of stating they are the party of Wales, not to jeopardise Llanelli children.

“The Minister should reverse his decision or consider resigning. If a child dies at the school it will be on his head, in my view.”

A Plaid Cymru source responded: “Calling for the Minister’s resignation is totally over the top. The campaign for a dedicated nurse at the school has been going on for quite some time. There is, however, no record of Mr Greaney calling for Labour Health Ministers – who were in power for 27 years until just three months ago – to resign.”

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