Vaughan Gething: I expect to see further improvements in response times in every single health board area—
Vaughan Gething: And I expect, when we see the next series of quality indicators in the next quarterly report at the end of July, that you’ll see I’m optimistic that Hywel Dda will have hit its response times, because it hasn’t always done so at the start of the pilot. This was part of the recognition of where we are. Across the whole of Wales, we’re hitting the target. The challenge is, in those...
Vaughan Gething: I thank the Member for the question. I am encouraged to see further improvements in performance against the four-hour target and a reduction in lengthy waits during May. Despite daily attendances rising by 8 per cent when compared with the previous month, eight out of 10 patients spent fewer than eight hours in emergency departments from arrival until admission, transfer or discharge. I have...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the question. I think it’s fair to say we need a whole-system response to the challenges that are being faced. So, it’s about: how are people conveyed to an emergency department, going back to Dawn Bowden's question earlier, to ensure people make an informed choice about what to do? It’s also about how primary care have tooled up to deal with unscheduled care, to make sure...
Vaughan Gething: I thank the Member for his question. I’ll start by making clear that, whilst there has been a welcome reduction in the number of 12-hour waits over the last month, there’s no illusion that we’re in an acceptable position. I don’t think the number of 12-hour waits is acceptable and, in my earlier answer, I made clear that that message has been given to the service and the expectation...
Vaughan Gething: I thank the Member for the question. I’ll start with the one point of disagreement, which is that I don’t think there’s any real evidence that the ageing population is leading to early retirements in our GP workforce. There are a range of pressures upon primary care and secondary care, which are felt right across the UK, and that includes GP recruitment and a range of specialities in...
Vaughan Gething: I thank the Member for her second question. This is one of our challenges: how do we retain professionals within the workforce? Some of this is about making it easier to stay on different terms, some of it is about making it easier to return to the workforce as well. So, that’s part of the work that is already ongoing with stakeholders, in particular the British Medical Association’s GP...
Vaughan Gething: I thank the Member for her question, which is topical. It’s part of our ongoing conversation about what sorts of incentives we provide for people: so, the additional support that we provide for people in training, and what we can then expect back. So, that is part of the work that we’re taking through with those stakeholders to understand whether that sort of bonded arrangement could be...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you. I fully support the point that’s being made. I’m pleased to see that Parliament actually passed a motion confirming that they want EU citizens’ status here to be retained and safeguarded. Here within the NHS in Wales, and across every single Government department, we’ve been keen, over the last few weeks since the Brexit vote, to make very clear in our public statements,...
Vaughan Gething: I thank the Member for the question. We have regular conversations with our stakeholders in the trade unions about their position on a range of different parts of terms and conditions, including the negotiations we have had in the past with them about pay. And so we need to make sure the conversation is rounded between what the representatives of the workforce actually want to achieve and...
Vaughan Gething: We’re committed to a 10-year workforce strategy; we’re working through that with our partners and stakeholders. We’ve had the Jenkins review and I expect to see advice on that in the near future. We’ve also had the review undertaken by Robin Williams, the former vice-chancellor of Swansea University, on education and training. So, we’re properly considering where we are, and what we...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the question. The vast majority of people access the NHS through primary care. We remain committed to improving access to primary care, working with clusters. This will include new initiatives like improving pharmacy-based services and physiotherapy-based services and other therapies as well. We will of course maintain our commitment to also providing high-quality care within...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the question, put with your usual calm and dignified manner. I would, of course, note that, in complaining about no reference to RTT, there was no reference to RTT in your question. If you want an RTT question answered, then actually ask it. When it comes to RTT across the NHS, we’ve actually seen significant improvements in the last six months. [Interruption.] I’ll answer...
Vaughan Gething: Well, I absolutely agree with the point that is being made, and this is part of the challenge of dealing with headline RTT, actually, because lots of people who are on lists at present don’t actually need operative procedures, and so, it’s partly about making sure they go to the right place at the right time at the start of their care journey. So, for example—I’ve talked about this...
Vaughan Gething: I thank the Member for the question—I’m aware of the issue, which is obviously a serious one. We do have proper commissioning arrangements for care where it’s needed for babies to travel, but the additional potential travel is an issue that we need to think about, and how we support families. I’m interested in making sure that, in the care that we do need to commission, where people...
Vaughan Gething: My priorities are to provide the people of Pembrokeshire with health services that deliver the best possible outcomes for patients. I will, of course, be guided by the best and most up-to-date clinical evidence and advice to deliver the high-quality healthcare that the people of Pembrokeshire deserve.
Vaughan Gething: There is absolutely no evidence to say the changes are unsafe, and I really do regret the manner in which this debate is approached, because people are unnecessarily worried and concerned when elected representatives say that services are unsafe or are dangerous. That is deeply unhelpful. There is simply no evidence to support the assertion that the Member has made in this Chamber and in...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the question. As I said earlier, we do not intend to go down the route that England is going down by imposing a contract. A big reason why that contract was rejected was because doctors don’t trust the UK Government, and that’s such a damaging state of affairs. I’m pleased that we do have a relationship of trust with the British Medical Association here in Wales, and they...
Vaughan Gething: I thank the Member for his question. I have regular contact with people in south Pembrokeshire about the quality and nature of primary care services. It is absolutely an issue that crosses my desk on a regular basis and I do take an interest in it. I have not had people present to me with concerns about the safety of the service; rather more worries about the quality of care and how people...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the question. The recent independent review by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health stated that the changes to paediatric services in west Wales in 2014 have led to improved outcomes and better compliance with national clinical standards. We are investing in the service to secure further improvements for families in west Wales.
