Vaughan Gething: I'm aware of that particular instance, and I know that you've played a part in supporting the family in their awareness-raising campaign, and I wish them every success in finding a donor for their child. I've visited the Welsh Blood Service and I've seen how the registry works, and it is an amazing feat, actually, to have a worldwide register to potentially find donors in different parts of...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. It is widely acknowledged that autism services are improving, but I am acutely aware that many autistic people and their families still face a daily struggle to access the support that they need. I understand that services must not only continue on this improvement trajectory, but do so at increased pace. That is why, today, I have published an updated...
Vaughan Gething: I thank the Member for the series of comments and questions within. I think there are, essentially, three broad themes there. The first is about communication, and I recognise that there is a challenge about effectively not just communicating to but with people that is common to many of our challenges across health and social care—particularly in this area, though. The second broad...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the briefer series of comments and questions from the spokesperson from Plaid Cymru. I recognise the broad challenge here about legislation or not legislation, and it's an honest one as well. I'm not saying that people are engaging in this debate in bad faith—far from it. I recognise there is genuine concern across all parties about whether we provide the right services with...
Vaughan Gething: I'm happy to have the direct example from your constituency, where it is about making improvements in the here and now. Indeed, a number of other AMs have spoken to me, from around the Chamber—I won't name them—about the challenges they see within their local communities and, equally, progress that they see, as well, for some people. It's an important point, I think, to capture what you...
Vaughan Gething: On the progress on diagnostics, we've announced already the 26-week waiting time standard, which I referred to in my statement, and we will have—. Assuming we get the data right, they will be published on a regular basis in Stats Wales. We're committed to having an annual update on measures taken in the strategic action plan, and that will also provide the update on training measures—on...
Vaughan Gething: I thank the Member for his comments. I'm disappointed at the outset about the suggestion that the Government would not be committed to taking action to improve services were it not for the Bill. That is simply not true. If he had listened to previous debates within this Chamber, he would recognise that—and our previous meetings. It is simply not true to say that, without his Bill, there...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the question. Earlier this week, I was pleased to announce that I'd accepted in full the recommendations of the independent doctors and dentists review body. This gives doctors and dentists in Wales a pay rise beyond what was given to their counterparts in England and Scotland. It further demonstrates how much this Government values our doctors and dentists.
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for that. I think there were four broad questions there. On whether this award is the answer to the range of challenges that you've set out regarding recruitment and retention, on its own, no, of course it is not, but the award itself is an important part of the answer about encouraging doctors, dentists and other healthcare professionals to train, work and live in Wales. It's part...
Vaughan Gething: No, I think we've been entirely consistent. What we have done, though, is from reserves had to fund the pay award for this year, and we will now have to absorb that additional cost in future years. These come on the back of very difficult choices this Welsh Labour Government continues to make, and in a climate of eight years of continuing austerity our choices get tighter and more difficult...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Members will be aware that it was only earlier today that Hywel Dda university health board presented the outcome of their recent consultation on transforming clinical services, and they confirmed their recommended way forward for changes to services across the health board area. The recommendations were presented by clinicians who work in west Wales, and...
Vaughan Gething: —no, I’m carrying on with my remarks—if we are to provide the health service that the people of Wales need and deserve, because service change requires maturity and leadership from all of us. The challenges facing health in Wales today are well known. They include a rising elderly population, enduring inequalities in health, increasing numbers of patients with chronic conditions and, of...
Vaughan Gething: Well, this isn't a choice that the Government is making. The broad choice is for us to reform or not. I'm clear that our health and care system needs reform. The parliamentary review told all of us our health and care system needs reform. Staying as we are is not fit for the future. In Gwent I made a decision to enable a new hospital to be built at the centre of that reformed system of health...
Vaughan Gething: I think you should listen to your colleague Nick Ramsay, because across Gwent there was agreement, on a cross-party basis again, cross-community, on a new plan to deliver health and care. That was agreed before the Government said there was definitely x sum of money to deliver a new hospital at the heart of it. I think I was the fourth or fifth health Minister to be confronted with that...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I welcome the opportunity to update Members on the introduction of pre-exposure prophylaxis, which we'll now refer to as 'PrEP', one year after it’s introduction here in Wales. PrEP, as you know, is an antiretroviral medication, which, if taken correctly, can prevent HIV for those at risk. Public Health Wales undertook work with an independent HIV expert...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the two questions. In the early part of my statement, I did try to outline that every integrated sexual health clinic in Wales has been providing PrEP from the outset of the trial, which is good news, because, when we initially spoke in May, that was before the trial had begun. So, actually, within the period of time, the lead-in time, every integrated sexual health clinic has...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the questions. I think one of the encouraging things we shouldn't lose sight of is that we are getting an engagement with people who previously weren't engaged with sexual health services because of the availability of PrEP. So, it's not just of benefit for HIV. As I said earlier, those other sexually transmitted infections that people are now being treated for would not have...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'd like to start by apologising to the Chamber for being late for the first minute of this debate, but in particular to apologise to Peter's family for missing part of what is a very important and emotionally charged debate about the work done by Assembly Members considering their petition, and indeed not just the response by the Government but more...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'd like to start by thanking Members who both tabled the debate on this again important and emotionally charged issue, but in particular to those who have contributed. Stillbirth, pregnancy loss and the death of a baby are often events that we don't consider happening to us. They're things we hear about with other people. But they do happen to lots of...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you, Llywydd. Further to my written statement on Friday, I thought it important to update Members on actions that are being taken to support maternity services at Cwm Taf university health board. Reports over the past week are clearly very concerning, and Members will want to understand how the situation occurred. As a parent, I do appreciate how distressing this is for all those...
