Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you. At present, the C21 north Wales medical training programme at Bangor University is delivered in collaboration with Cardiff University. This initiative was introduced to reflect the Welsh Government’s commitment to deliver medical training in north Wales, and it will form the basis of the curriculum of the north Wales medical school.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks, Jane, and thanks for your continued focus on this issue. It's certainly keeping my feet to the fire. I'm pleased to say that this new contract will, as I say, hopefully see 5,000 additional people who currently can't get access to NHS dentists in Powys getting access, and 13,000 people in the Hywel Dda area. So, we have put money on the table, but, as you note, money is not going to...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks, Russell. I would accept that there is currently a capacity issue, and that's why I'm spending quite a lot of my time now trying to address this very issue. We are making steady progress with the recovery of dental services. And whilst I accept that it wasn't fantastic before the pandemic, the pandemic has certainly made things considerably worse, and we're still a long way from being...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well, a follow-up from the last question. Certainly, the health boards are responsible for the planning and assessment of dental provision to meet the local population needs. The Welsh Government is working on reforming the dental contract to focus on prevention and needs-based treatment in order to create more access for new NHS patients.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much. First of all, I think it's really important that people note that about 20,000 people are treated in terms of dentistry each week in Wales, and the number of dentists has risen in 2018 and 2019 above 1,500. Of course, one of the issues we've had is that the aerosol generating capacity that happens was very dangerous during COVID, and that's where we saw a massive reduction...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well, we're very aware that, when we're seeing these developments happen, we do need to consider that additional infrastructure, including schools and all of those other things that go with them, and we're very aware of the increase in the population in particular in the area that you refer to, John. And that's why I have recently given approval for £28 million of funding, which has been...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Access to primary care services has changed dramatically across Wales over the past two years. Services have had to adapt to ensure patients can access primary care in a safe and effective manner. Digital technology has helped to deliver these improvements.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: And I think it's really important, of course, that we listen to clinicians. We're the people who've asked these people to come up with their ideas. The restriction on us is capital, so that is the problem that we have. Can we actually set up these establishments? We'll need to, I think, adapt what we have, rather than build new facilities, but you won't get any objection to us here from doing...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well, certainly you've misunderstood, if you think that we somehow excluded orthopaedics from our planned care strategy. That is the place where I have most concerns, because the waiting lists are really quite hefty, and that's why we're actually paying a lot of attention to it and focusing on it. And I've made it absolutely clear, as the Member knows, that I'm very keen to see regional hubs...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: 270 beds per 100,000 in Wales compared to 170 beds per 100,000 in England. So, if you compare our figures, in terms of beds here in Wales compared to England, then we come out much better than they do.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much, and thank you also to the committee for the recommendations. I will be taking time to go through those recommendations, and I’m sure there’ll be a lot of ideas contained in them. It’s not something that we’ve been ignoring, it’s something that we’ve been paying a great deal of attention to. But as the committee now understands, it is a very complex system,...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch yn fawr, Joyce. I share with you the need for us to put a lot more time and effort into endometriosis in terms of the NHS in Wales, and that's why I was really pleased that this has been a focus of the women's health implementation group, where we've put forward an additional £1 million to really address this issue, along with a couple of other women's issues. You'll be aware that I'm...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I think that's the key issue, isn't it—when is it safe to do so, and how do we make sure that you can get the fastest and the best care possible at the earliest opportunity. That is an issue for Hywel Dda to determine, and of course we will take our clinical lead from them. What I do know is that alongside the rest of the pressures that we're seeing across all our accident and emergency...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you. Our priority is to provide the people of Wales, including those in Preseli Pembrokeshire, with health services that deliver the best possible outcomes for patients. We will be guided by the best and most up-to-date clinical evidence and advice to deliver high-quality care that people deserve.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I expect all patients to be seen in order of their clinical priority as assessed by the relevant clinician, based on royal college guidelines, with the most urgent patients seen first.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Ambulance resourcing is an operational matter for the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust, in collaboration with health boards and the Emergency Ambulance Services Committee, as commissioners of ambulance services in Wales. The national roster review factored in the particular characteristics of rural communities to ensure they are not disadvantaged.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: As well as routine gynaecological services, patients with endometriosis in Hywel Dda University Health Board are receiving care and support from a dedicated clinical nurse specialist in endometriosis and pelvic pain.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you, Altaf. Certainly, we're aware that that opportunity to do online tests and make sure that you get those delivered to home—I think that does open a new opportunity. In terms of the 15-minute tests, obviously, if people come back to us on that in the consultation, then that's something we'll have to consider. You suggest that HIV testing can be terrifying. I don't think it's as...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much, Buffy. I think it's really important, the point that you make, because we know that HIV affects men, women, trans people, all kinds of people, and I think it's really important that we recognise that and we say that, again, out loud. That's why we've ensured that this plan is very inclusive and that no-one is left behind. What we find is that women are generally more...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Certainly, in terms of a Fast Track Nation, I think there are great models here in Wales already, and certainly the model here in Cardiff and the Vale has been vital. I do hope that we will see those models developing across Wales ultimately. Of course, it makes sense to target some areas more quickly than others, but what I do hope in terms of resources is that health boards on the ground...
