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: The health board’s performance is now improving in a number of areas. The number of people currently waiting over 36 weeks is 23 per cent lower than last year and we expect to see further improvements in future months. Progress has also been made on diagnostic, therapy and cancer waits.
Vaughan Gething: I have made it clear to the health board that I expect to see improvements in all waiting times, including for knee and hip replacements. My officials continue to work alongside the health board as they develop their orthopaedic plan.
Vaughan Gething: We take women’s health, including menopausal concerns, very seriously and expect all health boards to provide a full range of services to women experiencing the menopause in accordance with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance.
Vaughan Gething: Officials have received the health board’s integrated winter delivery plan and provided feedback to inform further enhancement of its plan. Officials will continue to work alongside the health board to help it understand the demand and capacity required to meet the needs of its population and identify opportunities for national and local support, as required.
Vaughan Gething: The Welsh Government expects all health boards to provide safe, timely, high-quality termination of pregnancy services for women living in their areas.
Vaughan Gething: The 'Putting Things Right' complaints procedure was independently reviewed by Keith Evans in 2014. He concluded the process had a good overall approach but made recommendations for further improvements. The vast majority of these have been implemented and benefits felt by patients. There are no plans for a further review.
Vaughan Gething: Construction on the Grange hospital site commenced on 30 October 2017 and it is due to open in the spring of 2021.
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...
