Vaughan Gething: Well, this is an issue of obvious concern, not just to the wider public but to myself as well. I have seen and identified in the independent evaluation of the new clinical response model some concern about the boundaries of categorisation, between red and amber, as one issue that is being addressed by the emergency ambulance services committee and the Welsh ambulance services trust, in...
Vaughan Gething: I haven't been asked to make those choices. Those are operational choices for the service to make about the right way to deploy services. If there's a choice to be made about what's a clinically appropriate thing to do, then again, that isn't something that I think I should try and step into as the Cabinet Secretary for health. We instituted a new model based on clinical evidence and advice...
Vaughan Gething: I think you neatly highlight the point that I was trying to address in response to Caroline Jones's supplementary, that overall our service is good. The great majority of people receive a timely response that properly meets the care need, and actually we now have a better prospect of getting to people with the highest level of care need because of the changes we have made. But, there is a...
Vaughan Gething: In light of the significant concerns raised on this issue, I established a task and finish group to advise on any further action that should be taken within Wales on the use of mesh implants for the treatment of pelvic organ prolapse and incontinence. That group will report to me in January 2018.
Vaughan Gething: I'm happy to respond. This is an issue of significant public concern, and understandably so. I recognise perfectly well that there are a number of people who have had life-changing consequences from mesh implants. And it's important to recognise that, that it is a real issue. My interest is in understanding the exact scale of the challenge and what we could and should do about it. I note...
Vaughan Gething: When I provide the written statement—. I'm expecting the group to report to me in January and then to make a written statement after. So, when I do that, I'll make sure I cover the exact point that you raise. The task and finish group is actually looking at pelvic organ prolapse, as opposed to hernia operations. There'll be a different group of surgeons to be involved. But I know that some...
Vaughan Gething: I think it's important for me to be honest about what I can and can't do, and I can never guarantee to anyone that a surgical procedure won't go wrong. There is an inherent risk in invasive surgery that it may not work as you would wish it to and as most of the evidence suggests it should do. What matters even more so in this case is the consequences of that surgery going wrong, the...
Vaughan Gething: You have me at a disadvantage, and I won't pretend to have the figures off-hand.
Vaughan Gething: I'd like to come back to how we have the most appropriate service possible. I actually spoke at an event organised on IBD in London in the past, which was organised with a range of people from across the UK to look at what we're doing, and I recognise that I do know that we don't have the number of specialist nurses that we would ideally wish to. But it's still about understanding how many...
Vaughan Gething: If I may, in providing a response, I'll look not just at specialist nurses, but more broadly at how we help people to manage their condition, to understand not just at the nursing end but a range of other issues like, for example, diet support we do give to people. It's a relatively common condition actually and a number of people suffer at various points in their life, including staff...
Vaughan Gething: I'm happy that Caroline Jones recognised this as a whole-system issue. This is not simply about saying that accident and emergency departments need to either run quicker or faster or more efficiently and that it's just about a hospital issue. It's actually about flow all the way through our healthcare system. So, it's about how we prevent people going unnecessarily into hospital, whether...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the questions. Again, part of our challenge regularly is how we reduce demand and redirect demand. There's a significant amount of work that is already ongoing, and not just the seasonal Choose Well campaign. Part of that this year is looking at My Winter Health Plan for those people who are particularly vulnerable and more likely to appear in our accident and emergency...
Vaughan Gething: I made a statement on the 111 service some months ago and I'd indicated that, through the winter, I would expect not just more about the evaluation of the 111 service in ABM and Carmarthenshire, which has been broadly positive, but to make choices through the spring about roll-out through the rest of the country. So, I will have an evaluation and have already committed to providing...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the question. This goes back to the policy intent of this Government, which I've already indicated, to maintain the NHS bursary. It's not just a bursary for nursing students; there is a range of health and care professionals who receive the bursary. The continuation of the bursary in direct contrast to England—this Welsh Labour Government decided to continue with that...
Vaughan Gething: No, it's simply that we make these announcements at different points in time, as I'm sure you've noticed. We'll make different announcements about doctors and training places in the GP field. We've just announced, of course, the final fill rate for this year—we actually overfilled our GP training places. With the creation of Health Education and Improvement Wales, we'll have a different...
Vaughan Gething: This Government has never tried to put a halt on young people from Wales having opportunities in Wales to study medicine. Our challenge has been something for something with our medical schools and our capacity to do so. So, we already have a slight increase in the number of Welsh domiciled students acquiring places in both Cardiff and Swansea. I've been clear, as indeed has the Cabinet...
Vaughan Gething: We have invested an additional £8 million a year to support a substantial programme of work to improve access to specialist CAMHS services in response to the significant increase in referrals in recent years. All local health boards are working towards consistently meeting the 28-day target.
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the question. I welcome the fact that you've recognised the significant progress that has been made, but also I recognise there is still more to do. There was a significant amount of improvement to achieve the 28-day target across Wales in March this year. Since then, we've seen achievement slip back, and we now have some people waiting too long again. We've actually seen that...
Vaughan Gething: We've been very clear in investing the additional resource that was for CAMHS. We've got our broader mental health ring fence, and, actually, we know that we spend more than the ring fence both in mental health and in CAMHS services. Part of the challenge is about seeing CAMHS as part of a whole system, because we know that part of the challenge has been that there are more people being...
Vaughan Gething: We expect to make available properly scrutinised and accurate data as official statistics, so that people can see transparently whether the health service is meeting the 80 per cent of children and young people being seen in CAMHS services within 28 days. I cannot be clearer about my expectations or about the transparency of the information that the public and Members will receive.
