Kirsty Williams has ensured that Wales is the first nation in Europe to have legislation to guarantee safe staffing levels on hospital wards.

Her bill is only the second private members’ bill to make it into law. The first was by her Liberal Democrat colleague Peter Black.

At Welsh conference the other day, Kirsty explained how a visit to an admissions ward with a family member allowed her to see at first hand the stress that the nurses were under. There simply wasn’t enough of them and Kirsty spoke to one nurse who had been there long beyond the end of her 12.5 hour shift. As she pointed out, if a nurse made a mistake through exhaustion, it would be they, not the manager who had made them work for so long, who would be held accountable.

Kirsty said:

This bill shows the ambition the Welsh Liberal Democrats have for Wales. We have today ensured that Wales will become the first part of Europe with a legal duty on safe staffing levels.

The premise of my More Nurses Bill is very simple: nurses who have fewer patients to care for, can spend more time with each patient. As a result, they can provide better, safer care.

With all the bad headlines the Welsh NHS has had over the past few years, I am pleased that the Welsh Liberal Democrats have today delivered this good news story.

Just this week the Welsh Liberal Democrats have delivered over £200m for our schools, 5,000 apprenticeships and now we have delivered on a law to ensure safe nurse staffing levels in our hospitals.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social