Vaughan Gething: ...lives. I know this not just from my time here but my time before this place when I was an employment lawyer and much of the disability discrimination that I dealt with in terms of giving advice and representation was actually about work-related stress or employers not dealing with factors from outside of work that affect their ability to work. So, this is a long and consistent theme of the...
Vaughan Gething: ...for a formal report to be provided, to ensure there is meaningful scrutiny and the ability to take evidence at that time. In particular, the Assembly will be able to understand and seek any representations that the next Assembly feels would be relevant, ahead of making any decision on whether it should continue with the minimum pricing provisions. So, therefore, I'm happy to indicate the...
Vaughan Gething: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. On Friday, I published the report of the task and finish group that I established to review the use of vaginal synthetic mesh tape and sheets in the treatment of stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. This report provides a comprehensive account of the use of mesh in Wales and the problems associated with it. Importantly, it makes recommendations on...
Vaughan Gething: ...board or the executive team. And that is a proposal that has been well received in the consultation, and I just don't think that's particularly difficult to understand. On your point about board representation and gender and the gender split, actually, as I said earlier, we actually, on a leadership level for chairs and chief executives, do rather well in the health field. A really good...
Vaughan Gething: .... The consultation ran until 29 September last year. There were 336 submissions from individuals and organisations, as well as 1,328 pro-forma responses relating to proposals for citizen voice and representation. It is clear from the responses and the report of the parliamentary review that we need to act now to preserve our health and care services for generations to come. Responses to...
Vaughan Gething: It also means that services are better able to manage demand and, increasingly, capacity and better manage workloads. For example, the bay cluster in Swansea makes prudent use of a paramedic to carry out house calls. That has resulted in people, often the elderly, being seen sooner and not having to wait for the GP to finish surgery. And, in the Llanelli cluster, they've appointed two social...
Vaughan Gething: ...engagement ahead of the long-term plan—your first question—we do expect to engage openly with stakeholders, within the health service, with different staff groups and different royal college representation as well. It's interesting how royal colleges themselves are actually welcoming and agitating for more change as well. That can be difficult for them and some of their members, as...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the question. I think it’s a helpful opportunity to clarify the point and the purpose of the board, because the board isn’t going to be a representational board, made up of different interest groups. If we do that, we’ll have different groups fighting and competing with each other, rather than actually having a board with sufficient expertise to actually undertake the...
Vaughan Gething: ...managers and management within the health service, I would need to be persuaded that that’s the right thing to do, but if you think there is a compelling case to make, I’d be happy to consider representations that you provide on how that can add value over and above what we already have in place, and over and above the professional expectations we could and should properly have of NHS...
Vaughan Gething: ...kind is discussed with the public, rather than simply being presented to the public about what must now happen. That is a good point that is well made, and I understand you’ll be taking direct representations to the health board in the coming days. But here in this Government, we are committed to delivering an NHS workforce that continues to provide high-quality care, and on the medical...
Vaughan Gething: ...acting as a Government for England, to resolve in how this process is actually resolved and the evidence base that is provided. But Powys health board have been engaged and they are directly making representations on behalf of Welsh residents who use those services. What the English services need to consider in this is not just from an altruistic point of view—the impact upon Welsh...
Vaughan Gething: ...they’ve had on actually setting priorities with the health service, so it’s genuine engagement and isn’t just about the service deciding for itself what it will do. You’ve got that direct representation from the third sector. It’s one of the strengths of the approach that we take, actually, that we’ve got the third sector there as critical friends, but who are still able to...
