Vaughan Gething: Well, look, for those people who have started to take PrEP, we're really encouraged about the fact that no-one who was in that cohort has got HIV since starting. That's really important. But, as I said in my oral statement, we've been looking to get to people with the highest risk, and, so, we found other sexually transmitted infections within that group. That shows we're actually getting to...
Vaughan Gething: We recognise the vital role of independent advocacy in providing person-centred mental health support. The Assembly legislated for independent advocacy in our Mental Health (Wales) Measure 2010. We will increase our investment in mental health services again next year to continue to improve the support that is available.
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the question. I'm happy to say that we do monitor the provision of advocacy services across the country, and, actually, Betsi Cadwaladr currently meet our current standards to make sure that advocacy services are provided. We have quarterly assurance and reporting on the delivery of advocacy services. I can't go into the detail of the individual matter that you raise, but if you...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the question. Last week, I issued a written statement providing an update on the implementation of the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest plan and announcing the establishment of the Save a Life Cymru partnership. The Welsh Government will now invest £586,000 to fund the first two years of that project.
Vaughan Gething: Well, of course I'm interested. There are a range of individual third sector organisations that are actively promoting the use of, and the funding of, defibrillators, including, actually, their monitoring and maintenance as well. What we try to do, as part of this work, is to bring those organisations together to understand where gaps do and don't exist. I'm pleased that, yesterday, 75...
Vaughan Gething: Formally.
Vaughan Gething: Thank you, Llywydd. I'm grateful to the opposition for tabling today's debate. The overall sentiment—delivering high-quality services that meet high and increasing demand—is something on which I'm sure we can all agree, but obviously there are points of disagreement within the motion; hence a Welsh Government amendment. The parliamentary review, made up of a panel of independent experts...
Vaughan Gething: I have previously described how 'A Healthier Wales' sets out our commitment to enable health and social care services to meet population need—as I've said before, the first time we have ever had a joint health and social care plan with ownership between health, local government and the third sector. A transformation programme will bring pace and purpose to how we invest in people and how we...
Vaughan Gething: I'll happily take an intervention.
Vaughan Gething: And that's why we're committed to rolling out the 111 service. We are committed to improving out-of-hours care, just as every Government across the United Kingdom is. We're actually doing something about it. And you will see the 111 service arriving in Aneurin Bevan in the near-ish future. Now, on staff numbers—[Interruption.] Well, on staff numbers, it's worth reflecting, as I said, that...
Vaughan Gething: Diolch, Llywydd. Members will recall that in June of this year I published 'A Healthier Wales'. That responded to the recommendations of the independent expert-led parliamentary review of health and social care in Wales. And Members will, of course, recall that the terms, remit and membership of the parliamentary review panel enjoyed cross-party support from this place. 'A Healthier Wales'...
Vaughan Gething: I have also constituted an advisory board, made up of senior health and social care leaders, together with key partners from across sectors and geographical regions of Wales, to provide strategic oversight, advice and challenge to the programme. This board has already met twice and is providing real additional value with the expertise and influence it is able to provide to our work. ...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the comments and questions. I'm going to start by recognising what you say about the fund, and, of course, some people have all been looking for an extra sum of money. Whenever you announce a certain sum of money, people always try to understand what their part of it is, what their chunk is and whether it will cure all ills. Well, I've been really clear from the outset, as...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for your comments and questions. Of course, I agree with you that change does take courage, but when we think about the questions that you've asked, I'm happy to reiterate the comments to Helen Mary Jones that I made to Angela Burns as well: I answered that the £30 million for regional partnership boards is indeed new money. I should also welcome Helen Mary Jones to her new role...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the uncharacteristic generosity that I recognise in your comments. I think the point that you're making about efficiency and about how we gain greater value and productivity, they matter. There's something about doing some things differently, doing them more efficiently, but there's also something in transformation about doing different things as well. And we need to be able to...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the comments and questions. I'll deal with the specific points about Buurtzorg and social prescribing, and then I'll come back to the broader points about how we're moving forward, including your opening gambit. On Buurtzorg, we have indeed invested additional money in training district nurses, looking at particular models of care, and that will, of course, feed into how we...
Vaughan Gething: I recognise you mentioned particular points, yet I’m looking for the voice of the citizen, and the citizen isn’t one single person with one single characteristic, and I don’t want a narrow tick-box exercise so that people can tick off and say they’ve had a conversation with someone who has a particular characteristic. It is about how we serve the citizen and serve the community. So,...
Vaughan Gething: I recognise the point that you make very well, and, to be fair, it was interesting for me to come to some of the events that you ran over the summer in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, in trying to understand more of the detail of how health and social care are delivered—good things, bad things and different things, and areas of opportunity as well as areas to highlight. I recognise the point...
Vaughan Gething: That's simply not true.
Vaughan Gething: Thank you, Presiding Officer. In my statement on 15 May 2018, I informed Members that I had commissioned a clinically led, independent review of the Welsh ambulance service’s amber category. I'm pleased to be able to provide Members with an update following the completion of that review. Members will recall that an independent evaluation of the clinical response model, undertaken in...
