Vaughan Gething: My officials will be receiving regular updates on the staffing situation. They will be visiting this week, and have a regular presence, going forward. My officials have also kept Healthcare Inspectorate Wales fully briefed, so that that they can determine what action they may wish to take. A number of systems have been set up to support patient safety. This includes a 24/7 on-call rota for...
Vaughan Gething: I thank the Member for her comments and questions, and, of course, I'm sorry for any family who suffers the loss of a baby or a young child. I would not want any family to feel the way that you described. Now, I can't, obviously, comment on the individual circumstances, but I do want to be clear that part of the point of this review is to try to learn what has happened. We're now looking at...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the series of questions. In terms of the support being provided to the health board, I outlined that in my statement. My officials and the delivery unit are providing support and challenge in addition to the co-opting of senior leadership support from experienced midwives in neighbouring health boards, and in addition, of course, to the steps that the health board themselves...
Vaughan Gething: Yes. I particularly welcome your point about not trying to overly sensationalise what has happened, and, equally, that's at the same time as not trying to downplay the seriousness of the concern that exists as well. It is entirely possible to recognise the serious situation, with 44 cases being reviewed—it was 43, but we've identified literally very recently a further case that should be...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for those, broadly, three questions. On the first point, I'm not aware that the proposed merger has had any impact on the delivery of services; it's not been a point that's been raised by anybody with concerns that, somehow, that's a factor in the quality of care and in this cluster of cases of concern. The serious incident reporting is what's led to us looking again at the cluster...
Vaughan Gething: Well, the first part of your question I thought was entirely reasonable, to ask again about staff shortages, and that is part of the review that's been commissioned. The health board themselves have recognised that staff shortages may have had a part to play in the failure to report promptly some of these matters. The point about the independent review is to understand properly and in a...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the comments. Of course, these—. I politely disagree with him about the first point that the structural change is what's highlighted the anomalies. It was actually a new head of midwifery services coming in and doing what she should have done in reviewing the position and looking at the cluster of cases and recognising that those matters needed to be escalated. So, actually,...
Vaughan Gething: Yes. I'm happy to come in on the two points. The broader point about the quality of midwifery services and maternity services more generally: my understanding is, and the assurance that I've initially had from officials is, that women should continue to have confidence in the quality and compassion of midwifery-led care and broader maternity services within Cwm Taf. I've committed to making...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you. I've set out clear expectations for the health board to meet to be considered for de-escalation in the special measures improvement framework. I will make an oral statement on Betsi Cadwaladr University Local Health Board’s progress on 6 November.
Vaughan Gething: It's a question that Members will continue to ask until we see real and lasting improvement in the delivery of the areas that are in special measures. We've seen progress on maternity. We have not seen adequate progress on mental health. We've some progress on out-of-hours. We've seen some progress on leadership. Mental health has always been the most challenging area of activity, and so...
Vaughan Gething: Well, as Members will know from our regular outings in the Chamber, in statements, in debates and, indeed, in questions that I receive every three weeks, there is regular and direct accountability. I answer questions and I'm held to account on a regular basis. As far as Betsi Cadwaladr is concerned, there is a new improvement framework, with improvements to be made, and I expect to be held to...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the question. We have actually seen significant progress made on reducing delayed transfers of care right across our health service, including within north Wales. I and the Minister look at the figures every single month and where there is a falling back between health boards we absolutely make sure that action is taken and questions are asked. So, there's no lack of oversight...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the question. Neither I, nor my officials, have had any formal discussions with Vertex about Orkambi. I have, though, reminded Vertex that a medicine must be appraised and recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence or the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group before it can be routinely provided by NHS Wales. It is Vertex's responsibility to comply with the...
Vaughan Gething: I must confess that I'm regularly frustrated at the manner in which the discussion around Orkambi has taken place. At the centre of all this, we should remember, are people, families, who want to have the best possible treatment available on our national health service. Every single company that manufactures a medicine available for the NHS understands the process they must go through, and...
Vaughan Gething: Yes, and I think that's quite helpful, because, whilst I am frustrated that there hasn't been a meaningful engagement in the process, if they did, this is exactly what the new treatment fund is for. So, when new treatments become available that are NICE approved—so, they are proven to be effective and safe and cost-effective—there is often a challenge in getting those drugs in an...
Vaughan Gething: I accept completely that Members in every party are acting in good faith in asking questions around this. I completely accept that. There has been engagement between our appraisal process on a number of occasions, which has not resulted in the additional clinical data being provided. The procurement question is interesting. But you get to that point once you have gone through the appraisal...
Vaughan Gething: I am, of course, sorry that Professor McClelland has cause—and, from the statement made by the health board, good cause—to complain about the care that her husband has received. I'm also sorry that she feels the need to change where they live. But I don't accept the system-wide criticism that she makes of the national health service here in Wales. I accept that her view is—. Of course,...
Vaughan Gething: I think the Plaid Cymru spokesman should be careful in the manner in which he sets out his views. It almost sounds as if he's inviting the Government to cut the health budget. I think, actually, what we need to do is we need to deliver on our joint plan for improvement across health and social care. It has taken a significant—[Interruption.] It has taken a significant amount of work to get...
Vaughan Gething: I'm committed to delivering 'A Healthier Wales', which is our joint plan that has a real focus on shifting our investment and activity into local healthcare. I've said before on a regular number of occasions that trying to have an artificial figure on the amount to go into one part of the system is not the right way to go about doing that. We've set out not just a transformation fund, but...
Vaughan Gething: I've given evidence on suicide prevention to the committee that you're a member of and I'm looking forward to the report. You'll understand from the 'Talk to me 2' mid-point review that a range of measures have been looked at. For example, we took measures immediately following the evidence I gave to make sure that information that should be available on a wide basis—which we understood...
