Leanne Lewis

Candidate for Bridgend

Tell us about yourself

I was born in Pontypridd and raised in the Rhondda Valleys. I was fortunate to have a Welsh Medium Education firstly at Ysgol Gymraeg Pont Sion Norton and then Ysgol Gyfun Rhydfelen.

I have been a nurse for 26 years and currently work as a Nurse Specialist specialising in complex care for adults and the elderly. I trained as an Adult Nurse at East Glamorgan Hospital in Pontypridd and attended both the University of Glamorgan and Swansea University. I currently work for NHS Wales and hospitals within South Wales and have worked front line supporting several hospital sites during this Covid Pandemic.

I have lived in Pencoed for 16 years and have called Bridgend home since 2005. Outside of Work I have a busy life as a wife and mother. I am also a final year post graduate student, studying for a joint master’s in medical law and Ethics. I am also a Pencoed town councillor representing the Penprysyg ward within the town.

What is the most important thing you think the Senedd should do in the next five years?

For me the next five years is about rebuilding Wales following the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of our local business have been suffered huge losses. We need to support, invest, and build Welsh companies better than ever.

We need to support and enable our local towns and villages to thrive once again.

Our NHS and Social Care services have also been hit with unprecedented demands throughout this pandemic, for years the NHS and local authorities have seen their funding frozen or cut back. Having worked within the NHS I have seen the cutbacks and the bureaucracy within both care settings first-hand and the devastation it has brought to our communities.

I want to see the people of Wales being provided world class evidenced care from cradle to grave. There is fantastic work and care being provided by social care providers. Let us give our elderly population and most vulnerable within our communities the care and treatment they deserve. Let us reward All front lines staff not with claps but with the funding and equipment required to keep our communities safe and well.

For this we need to build on our own economy does not go “cap in hand to Westminster” I truly believe Wales has the skills knowledge and passion to look after our own affairs.

What will you do for Bridgend if elected?

My priorities now are what they have always been. I want to see the Bridgend I loved visiting as a child and growing up, a town thriving. I want to inspire hope and ambition. I want to see the young people of Bridgend have the best possible opportunities in education, jobs, housing, I want to help create Health and Social Care Services which is designed and delivered sustainably to care for all from cradle to grave.

I want to ensure our environment from the valleys to our coastline is cherished and protected.

I want to promote and celebrate our unique culture by celebrating our past and embracing our future as an independent country. I always considered my role to be a partnership with the patients and families I support. If I were chosen to represent the people of Bridgend, I would continue to have to maintain the same work Ethos and would promise to fight and advocate all I could to ensure Bridgend and its people are heard loud and clear within the Senedd.