Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I think it's really important that people who are taking PrEP—of course, they shouldn't face any stigma, and of course we will ensure that that is the case. But the way to do this is to bring the public with us, and I am very, very keen to make sure that we raise public awareness of the fact that the world has moved on a huge amount since the 1980s, and people who receive that...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much, and, of course, we want to see and ensure that we do reach that target by 2030, and, if we can do it more quickly, then certainly I'd like to see that as well. It depends to what extent the public comes with us on this journey. One of the reasons, and one of the things that I hope will emerge from the fact that we are giving this such great attention today and over the...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much, Russell. Certainly, when it comes to reporting—and obviously, this is a consultation, so there's an opportunity for people to throw in their ideas beyond what has been set out so far—but, certainly, in terms of monitoring, we are very clear that there's going to be an oversight group to make sure that the 26 actions that have been set out are actually monitored and they...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: The 26 actions are underpinned by three core principles: that there should be zero tolerance of HIV-related stigma; that all plans for implementation of new initiatives and services will be informed by, or developed with, people living with HIV. Alongside this, there will be a recognition of contextual differences by sexuality, ethnicity, age, gender and location. All new initiatives and...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch yn fawr. I am very pleased to present this HIV action plan to the Senedd. This delivers on our ambitious programme for government commitments that we made to develop an HIV action plan for Wales and to tackle the stigma experienced by those living with HIV. Even though we've made significant strides in many HIV-related areas in recent years, there remains much to be done. This action...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: All-Wales standards give guidance to health service staff on how to ensure that patients' needs for support and communications are met, and that includes BSL. Every health board and every trust is expected to put arrangements in place to deliver the standards in order to ensure that all services are available and are accessible, including for those experiencing hearing loss. If you remember...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch yn fawr. I would like to pay tribute to Joel for bringing this matter to the attention of the Senedd. I also want to pay tribute to the Tory group, because it's so lovely the way you all support each other in these short debates. It's a real example to the rest of us, so well done, you. You'll be pleased to hear that my 15-page speech has now been cut down to five. [Laughter.] The...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Yesterday, I explained the significant interventions that are being made, and I won't rehearse those now. Significant improvements have taken place across the health board over the past seven years and the institution is fundamentally different from the one that was placed under special measures. The executive team has been renewed, including a new chief executive and medical director, among...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Now, the decision, as I highlighted yesterday, reflects very serious and outstanding concerns about the leadership, governance and progress, in particular in Glan Clwyd, including the vascular service and in the emergency department. And I'd like to make it absolutely clear that experiences like the one referred to—Reverend Jones, for example—are absolutely unacceptable. The example given...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch yn fawr. Yesterday, I gave an oral statement concerning the escalation status of the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, in which I advised that I had received and accepted advice from Welsh Government officials that targeted intervention arrangements at the health board should be extended to include services at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I would just like to make it entirely clear that I do accept that the situation is very serious indeed, and that's why we are taking these steps.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I was accused yesterday of deliberately pushing in a statement to undermine today's debate, and I'd like to assure you that that was not the case. On the afternoon of 26 May, the tripartite meeting took place. On Friday 27 May, I was given a briefing on the recommendations. On Monday 30 May, at 2.25 p.m., my oral statement was commissioned from lead officials. And at 5 p.m. that afternoon,...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much. Well, the investment made into Rutherford was undertaken by a fund manager who was operating under contract to the Development Bank of Wales, and obviously that's at arm's length from the Welsh Government. So, in terms of due diligence, that would have been their responsibility. The fund is a portfolio fund and, of course, there are investments where there are high risks,...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much. Well, this is an issue that I was made aware of several weeks ago, so we've been, obviously, following the issue very closely and with the utmost concern for the people who are receiving their treatment there. Proton-beam therapy, as both speakers have been clear, is a very specialised approach to cancer treatment. The Welsh Government has no intention of intervening to...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much and, obviously, this news is desperately sad for the staff at Newport and the patients who are undergoing treatment there and, of course, for the local economy. Now, our priority, first and foremost, has been to ensure that people who are midway through their treatment can continue their therapy, whether they're NHS or whether they're private, as, obviously, patient safety is...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I can confirm that the parent company of the Rutherford cancer centre in Newport has filed for insolvency and, as a result, the centre's likely to close later this week. The NHS in Wales is ensuring that patients who have started their treatment can complete their treatment.FootnoteLink
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well they don't, and that's the point. And that's the point. I think it's really important that we don't lose sight of the fact that, actually, there are people who are satisfied with the support and the service that they are having in Betsi.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much. First of all, on Improvement Cymru, you're quite right that it was an organisation that focused before on the 1000 Lives programme, which was a safety programme to support health boards and trusts in their efforts to reduce harm, waste and variation in Welsh healthcare. That included work on eliminating hospital-acquired pressure ulcers, assessing patients for risk of deep...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much. There are some things, Gareth, that I expect to improve very quickly. I think there have already been some improvements in relation to vascular. There will be others that will take more time. The cultural shift that is necessary within the organisation—the acceptance that it needs to be a self-improving organisation—is something that will not be able to be switched on...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I believe that reorganisation at this point would be costly, it would be a distraction from the significant issues in relation to planned care, it would divert resources, and my focus at the moment is on patient care. There is nothing 'cut and paste' about this statement; I can assure you I've spent a lot of time working on it. I think that I will retain my focus, as I'm sure the board will,...
