Vaughan Gething: The independent review panel is chaired by Dr Ruth Hussey, the former Chief Medical Officer for Wales, and consists of national and international experts in the field of health and social care. At the outset, I want to thank Ruth and her fellow panel members, and, indeed, everyone who has engaged with the panel, for their commitment to this important work. I also welcome the cross-party...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the comments and questions. And I welcome your recognition at the start that the panel have been open and transparent, but also that this has, as I said in my opening statement, come from a genuine cross-party engagement. It started as being an agreement between Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru, but there’s been, not just from those two parties but everyone in this Chamber, the...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the comments and questions. I too look forward to the models of care—the new models of integrated care—that the review team will bring forward to us with their final report, and I’m sure they’ll be challenging for us in a number of different ways. That’s part of the point of setting up the process. It is supposed to be challenging and difficult. It’s supposed to ask...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the question; it’s one that I’ve discussed previously with the Member for Llanelli, and not just, to be fair, in relation to his own constituency—not just with the Prince Philip Hospital where, as you recognised, there was a good example of what not to do, as well as then the way in which that was successfully achieved, and the same in Kidwelly as well, in some ways....
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the comments and questions. I’ll do this in reverse order. Again, I recognise the points about housing, but, again, you make a point about transport and transport needs, both to specialists in hospital centres, but also physical access to local care as well and how that will be delivered, and how much will be delivered in the centres that people travel to, and how much will be...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you. To be fair, it’s an issue that is regularly raised with me by both the royal college and the BMA as well. What I think is helpful and, again, different, and partly what gives us an opportunity, is that we do have a different relationship compared to other parts of the UK. It’s a much more adversarial relationship across our border. That is a point that is regularly raised by...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the comments and questions. Again, in the report, one of the drivers that’s recognised is the significant expansion in our older population—we both import older people who want to retire to Wales, as well as more people who've been here for a longer period of time actually just living longer. And, as I said, it's a cause for celebration, but it does come with a challenge for...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the question. I welcome the announcement yesterday by the United Kingdom Government of a UK-wide inquiry into the circumstances of this tragedy. We all need to know the truth about what happened. That’s why it’s important that those affected have their say about the inquiry’s approach and remit. I’ve previously called for such an inquiry, and I’ve written today to the...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the question. I ought to start by recognising, in response, not just Julie Morgan’s role in campaigning on this issue whilst a Member of this Assembly and as chair of the cross-party group, but also from her previous years in Parliament, with a real and active interest in this issue and the scandal that has affected people right across the United Kingdom, including here in...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for that series of points, which I’m happy to say I agree with. I think part of the challenge in this is not just the pain of those families who have lost someone or someone who has become infected, but, actually, much of that is exacerbated by the feeling that there has been a cover-up and that people have not been told the truth and that has not been an accident. That’s why...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for those points, Rhun. Again, I know you’re a member of the cross-party group as well and have taken a genuine interest in this issue. I, too, share the admiration of not just yourself but other Members in the Chamber for the tenacity of people who have not given up, not just on fighting for an individual cause for them and their family, but for a much wider cause that affected...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the comments and questions. Again, many Members in this Chamber will be directly affected by knowing someone who’s been directly affected by the scandal. What we’re at pains to do is not to try and claim the Welsh Government can write the terms of the remit for the inquiry. We’ll do all that we could and should do to influence and to advocate terms of reference that meet...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I’d like to begin by thanking Members for their contributions to this debate. As ever, these individual Member debates are a good opportunity for issues that would not otherwise receive a national profile to do so. We are talking today about a painful condition, as set out by David Melding—one that is not perhaps properly understood. That was referred...
Vaughan Gething: Yes.
Vaughan Gething: I was going to touch on some of that in the next part of my contribution, but I will refer back to some of the conversations we had yesterday with the parliamentary review statement, and the reference to what could and should be local, what’s the responsibility of health boards individually and acting together, and where should there be a central guiding hand directing and requiring the...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the question. There has been a significant increase in orthopaedic referrals in Betsi Cadwaladr over the last four years and capacity has not met demand. The local health board is taking a range of measures to deal with the increase, including the use of various triage services such as physiotherapists in general practitioner practices and lifestyle and weight management...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the follow-up questions. I do agree that long waits are unacceptable. There’s a real challenge for Betsi Cadwaladr in actually delivering property capacity and demand within its services. We know that there’s likely to be more demand as we move forward and that’s why they have to take a range of measures. The initial orthopaedic plan they had at board wasn’t endorsed...
Vaughan Gething: I can assure the Member this is not a laughing matter and it’s certainly not something that I find amusing at all. The challenge always is, whether in relation to an issue where we understand there is more than one reason for a rise in demand, and the inability of the health service to meet that demand—. The demand for a simple answer, to flick a switch and deal with it—that’s...
Vaughan Gething: There are a range of measures in place. The Welsh Government remains committed to supporting and retaining the existing NHS workforce. We have an open and constructive dialogue with trade unions and other staff representatives and we’re determined to create a supportive learning environment for our staff to work in and deliver high-quality care with and for the people of Wales.
Vaughan Gething: There is a real issue about staff within the service, and the pay cap is not just about people’s financial means—there are real issues about value. And that was set out very clearly in the last NHS pay review body report. It was set out again, not just within the health service but across the public sector, in a report from the senior salaries review body, issued this week and in the...
