Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much. You'll be aware, in our publication on the new recovery plan, that we did give specific attention to those working in our health and care system who are suffering from long COVID, and we did ensure that guidance is available in order to give employers an idea as regards ensuring that they know how the health and care system should be responding to those suffering from...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well, I want to ensure that we don't miss this opportunity presented by the pandemic to change things. A lot has already changed, and we need to tie in what's good as regards the changes that have happened in terms of how the workforce operates, but also the systems that we use. I was pleased to be part of a conference over the weekend with an orthopaedic society from India. A lot of our...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much. As it happens, I've just come from a call with HIW where we were talking about the problems specifically in relation to radiologists. Now, they have put a system in place where we do produce about 20 new radiologists every year, so that is quite a big increase from where we've been in the past. And of course, what's important is the quality of training that they receive,...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much. It's interesting that this has been presented as some big, sensational news story. It's not. We have been transparent about this the whole way through, about how many people are contracting COVID in hospitals. It's published on the Public Health Wales website on a regular basis. That is not done in England or elsewhere. So, if anybody wanted to see these, this is not new, it...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much. I, too, would refute the implication that we haven't been taking seriously the nosocomial transmission in hospitals, this infection transmission in hospitals. We've been taking very careful steps, and anybody who's been to hospital will understand how strict they are in terms of who's allowed in and wearing PPE, and I absolutely refute that. As you say, we are investigating...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much, Russell. Of course, every death in this pandemic has been difficult, and for those who've caught COVID in hospital it's even more tragic. We are very aware of the difficulties of the situation. Of course, what we have to remember is that the people who are serving in those hospitals also belong to the community, and when transmissions were high in those communities, there...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much, Jane, and just to make it clear that we recognise that we do need to do better in this space and that's why we're undertaking this review; that's why it was in our manifesto and that's why we've moved on very quickly—we were only elected a few weeks ago on that manifesto and already, we've got that workshop in place that is going to happen later this month. So, if you...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much, Natasha. You're quite right that the 'Family Voices' report does highlight the importance of supporting those children with life-limiting conditions and, of course, their families as well, who are going through a very traumatic time supporting them. It does propose that lifeline fund for Wales; that's precisely what we're looking at in this revision that is being undertaken...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch yn fawr. Thank you. I can't give you the exact breakdown for the £8.4 million, but I can give it to you for the additional funding we gave during the pandemic. You'll be aware that we gave an extra £12.3 million to hospices during the pandemic, and of that, £2.3 million was specifically for our two children's hospices in Wales. So, that should give you an idea of what it would be...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much. The Welsh Government works closely with the end-of-life care board and the all-Wales paediatric palliative care network to drive continuous improvements in palliative care and end-of-life care for adults, children and young people across Wales.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: The bowel, breast and cervical cancer screening programmes recommenced last summer after a temporary pause to screening at the start of the pandemic. Public Health Wales, which is responsible for the delivery of the national screening programmes, has prepared, and is implementing, recovery plans for each programme.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Our approach to improving cancer diagnosis and treatment for the whole of Wales is set out in the quality statement for cancer, published on 22 March 2021, alongside our COVID recovery plan. Health boards will respond to this approach through their annual planning.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Betsi Cadwaladr UHB has a six-point recovery plan. This includes the facilitation of extra activity and capacity using insourcing and outsourcing. Insourcing will be delivered through weekend working across all three sites and outsourcing will be undertaken via the independent sector. The health board will use recovery funds to support this.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Welsh Government continues to work in social partnership with employers and health unions to recognise the amazing hard work of our NHS workforce, and to improve morale. We implemented the bonus payment earlier this year and created positive changes in working practices and environments to allow appropriate rest and recovery time.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: In terms of the ice arena, we have asked for specific advice on this, and because of the low temperature in the ice arena, it's clear that the possibility of spreading the virus is greater, and that is why we have adopted the approach that we have. And we are looking at the possibility of ensuring that people who work there in a professional capacity are able to work.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: In terms of reopening outdoor residential centres, we were pleased that we were able to open for primary school children, but it's absolutely clear that if you're going to get a big group of people together and they're going to stay overnight, the chance of the virus spreading is going to be pretty high. And that is the reason why we are taking these measures. We only allow three different...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: On the issue of walk-ins, particularly for students, I know that that's certainly possible in Cardiff, so it would be interesting—. I am willing to go away and ensure that the guidance is clear on that, but that's my understanding and I will pursue that issue and ensure that everyone is aware of that. In terms of the Welsh language certification, of course we're very disappointed that we...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch yn fawr. There were quite a few issues there. I'll just try and canter through them as quickly as I can. First of all, on weddings, we've always been really concerned about weddings. I know there are a lot of people who run businesses in this sector who have genuinely suffered during this time. We're also very aware that this is exactly the kind of place where the virus could spread,...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: As the First Minister announced on 18 June, and reiterated in his press conference last Friday, we have agreed to pause any major relaxations until the 15 July review. This is a result of the increase in coronavirus cases across the whole of Wales, and continued uncertainty about the delta variant. Similar approaches have been adopted across the United Kingdom. This delay is important for two...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I move the motion before us today. The Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) Regulations 2020 set out the legislative framework for the four alert levels described in the coronavirus management plan. Since February, and until recently, we have seen improvements in the situation in Wales. The number of cases of coronavirus...
