Caroline Jones: First Minister, this pandemic has had a severe impact on primary care, placing additional obligations and burdens on an already struggling workforce. We know we need to recruit more GPs to cope with workloads in normal times, but, as we enter cold and flu season with COVID-19 still running rampant, the pressures will be immense. First Minister, we know technology can play, and does play, a...
Caroline Jones: Trefnydd, I would like to call for a statement from the Minister for health regarding the treatment of elderly persons during the current pandemic. Yesterday, I was asked to attend a meeting with a small group of assisted living residents to discuss the issues they were facing in recent months, only for them to be told by Coastal Housing that they had to meet outdoors. Some of these residents...
Caroline Jones: It was in relation to Alun Davies's hypocritical contribution about—
Caroline Jones: Minister, sadly far too many businesses are falling through the cracks in the support offered, and what support there is certainly doesn't make up for the long-term impacts that various lockdowns have had. Businesses don't know if they'll be open or closed from one week to the next, and many microbusinesses get no support at all because they don't have multiple years of accounts. One example:...
Caroline Jones: I'd like to thank the petitioners for bringing forward this petition. I have opposed the dumping of sediment dredged from the Hinkley C nuclear power station site in the past because of the uncertainty regarding the safety of sediment. The dredged sediment may be being dumped in the South Wales Central region, but it also affects my region, home to some of the world's top beaches and a haven...
Caroline Jones: 8. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Welsh hospitals? OQ55809
Caroline Jones: Thank you, First Minister. The fact that COVID-19 has been allowed to spread in our hospitals is a clear failure of Government policy and a dereliction of the Welsh Government's duty to protect our most vulnerable. First Minister, why is there no clear demarcation between COVID and non-COVID patients? Why are we testing just over half of all hospital admissions? And, First Minister, surely...
Caroline Jones: Trefnydd, I would like to ask for a statement from the Minister for Housing and Local Government regarding the ongoing situation at Henllys flats in Swansea. Following the flooding issues, some residents have had to be put up in temporary accommodation and those who remain in their properties have been informed that the lifts will be out of action for at least a couple of weeks, and this is...
Caroline Jones: Thank you for your statement, First Minister. We have seen lockdowns do untold damages to the lives and livelihoods of the Welsh public, and particularly the poorest in our society, because many vulnerable in society have been left behind. People have lost employment and businesses have closed. And whilst I appreciate we have to strike the correct balance, going forward, First Minister, will...
Caroline Jones: The World Health Organization states that lockdown should only be used as a last resort and should be avoided. The harms that these measures will cause to people's health, wealth and well-being will be severe, and we are seeing a staggering number of businesses fail, countless numbers of people being put out of work, huge numbers of young people unable to find work, and children having their...
Caroline Jones: Minister, with Swansea bay still having to impose infection control measures at Morriston Hospital, the number of people waiting for treatment will continue to rise, compounding an already dire situation with regard to excessive waits for treatment. Before the pandemic, there were already nearly 6,500 people waiting more than 36 weeks for treatment. So, with the suspension of routine...
Caroline Jones: First Minister, I too wish to emphasise the impact that fireworks have on people and pets each year. Bonfire night has become bonfire week in recent years, and fireworks have become increasingly more powerful. Combat veterans and pets live in fear during this period as quiet neighbourhoods resemble war zones. First Minister, what discussions have you had with the other Governments in the UK...
Caroline Jones: Trefnydd, I would like to call for a statement from the Minister for Health and Social Services regarding the Flying Start programme. I have been contacted by a prominent figure in Port Talbot who raised concerns regarding the future viability of the programme. Childcare facilities in Port Talbot have not seen an increase in the rates they are paid for providing care for the past four years,...
Caroline Jones: 5. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having upon businesses in South Wales West? OQ55827
Caroline Jones: Thank you, Minister. The pandemic has decimated the economy of my region, and while the virus can destroy lives, the measures to control it have destroyed livelihoods, and far too many of my constituents have lost their jobs and lost their businesses. I welcome the support given by both the UK and the Welsh Government. However, it has far too often fallen short of what is needed. One of my...
Caroline Jones: Minister, it is promising news about the Pfizer vaccine, and I hope that it does meet its potential. However, it will be some time before we can secure the nearly 6 million doses needed. Turning to the practicalities of roll-out, should this and other vaccines meet safety and efficacy standards, there have been reports in the media and GP newsletters that other GP services will be rolled back...
Caroline Jones: Moved formally.
Caroline Jones: On this day we commemorate the day the guns fell silent in the war to end all wars. Sadly, this wasn't the end of conflict, but we mark the end of this bloodiest conflict each year and commemorate all those who lost their lives in armed conflict throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Sadly, it is sometimes necessary to take up arms in order to defeat evil and protect the...
Caroline Jones: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. As a new decade dawned in Wales, our NHS was once again struggling with winter pressures. January 2020 was not unusual. Every winter for the past several years, our NHS ground to a halt as it struggled to cope with cold and flu season. Non-emergency treatments were curtailed as the NHS ran out of bed space once more. Welsh accident and emergency departments experienced...
Caroline Jones: Overall, during the first lockdown, around 62,000 fewer patients were operated on in Wales, compared with the same period the previous year—62,000 people left in pain and suffering with no end in sight. And people haven't stopped getting sick. Heart disease, dementia and cancer just haven't gone away. COVID-19 isn't Wales's biggest killer. In fact, it's, ironically, the nineteenth most...
