Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I think it's because we don't want to see any ambiguity in those settings. We do think, in those settings in particular, we have a responsibility to protect the people who are most vulnerable. So, that is—. It's the different setting that makes a difference. So, we will continue to give three-weekly regular updates. You've always known about the 21-day review; the rhythm has always...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Rhun, the situation is challenging, and that is why we have extended the regulations, to a certain extent. As I explained to Russell, it's been a tough call, and it is a matter of balance. We had a plan. We set out that plan, and what we've done is compromise, to an extent, in this scenario, because the numbers are still high. We are shifting responsibility from Government to the individual,...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I think we're in a place now where we need to trust the public, and actually the public in Wales have been quite remarkable. They've been quite remarkable. They have followed guidance, and it is difficult, but, at some point, you have to make that change. Also, I think, it is difficult. We're the only place—and certainly when we're making these calls—the only place in the UK to have the...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Of course, we are very keen, Russell, to ensure that we have an end date, which is why what we're doing is only extending a few very small parts of the COVID Act, and the reason we've got that in place is because, actually, we don't know what comes next and we need to have some contingency just in case. So, ideally, we don't want to use these powers, because,...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Secondly, the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) (Amendment) (No. 7) Regulations 2022. In our transition plan, 'Together for a safer future', we introduced our intention, in a COVID-stable scenario, to abolish the legal restrictions on 28 March. Unfortunately, given the situation at present, we came to the conclusion at the time of the 21-day review on 24 March that...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. I move the motion before us. As the First Minister set out last week, cases are once again increasing rapidly across Wales, which is being driven by the subtype of omicron variant BA.2. The latest results from the ONS coronavirus infection survey suggest that one in 16 people in Wales had COVID-19 in the week ending 19 March. That was 10 days ago; it's more likely now...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Formally.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well, thanks very much. We're continuing to work with the British Dental Association to explore how the reform of the national dental contract can encourage dental practices to collaborate at a local level. I'm sure you'll be pleased to hear, in relation to Bupa in Flint, that the health board plans to recommission replacement services in the area as early as possible. It is probably worth...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well, thanks very much, Jack. You'll be aware that there is real pressure on dental services, partly because of COVID and the fact that that aerosol spray really means that the spread of COVID is more likely. Recovery is happening, but obviously that is very difficult and very slow, and I acknowledge that there are areas where it's more difficult to access dental care than others. I will be...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: —and then the outline business case, when that was produced, that increased to £51 million, and now the full business case is £72 million. So, we are in a very different situation from when the proposal was initially put before us, but obviously, I will let you know once that decision has been made.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: We are working on system reform in dentistry and moving forward collaboratively with the reform programme in 2022. This includes working with practices to improve access, experience and quality of dental care.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: The full business case for the Royal Alexandra Hospital scheme has been received by the Welsh Government. I will make a final decision on the scheme, and the health board and local Members of the Senedd will be informed as soon as that decision is made.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well, thanks very much, Gareth. You'll be aware that the restraints on our capital funding are very real, not just for the next coming year, but also for the three years after that. I think that it's probably worth also pointing out that the initial costs of the scheme were estimated to be £22 million—
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks. Well, I think that it's fair to say that there have been issues in the past, and I think that we've made good progress since 2016. The fact is that the total number of IPFR requests is decreasing, while the proportion of those approved is increasing. So, those are the facts. So, things are definitely improving. I do think that it's fair to say—. Look, we're never going to have a...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well, the Member will understand that I can't comment on individual cases, but I am keen that WHSSC considers the finding of the judicial review and that they ensure that the individual patient funding requests policy is adopted fairly, consistently and equitably. So, whilst Welsh Ministers can generally direct local health boards in Wales as to the functions they exercise, responsibility for...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: We expect the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee to provide all treatments, including those for rare cancers, if they are recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence—NICE—or the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much. Well, I think it is important that we set out those national optimal pathways, and they have been developed for different tumour sites. And what we're trying to do is to make sure that we have value-based intervention. Of course, we have a unique approach in Wales, in the sense that we have a single, unified waiting time, which is different from the way they do it in...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Cancer treatments should be provided in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines. National optimal pathways have now been published in Wales across a range of cancer types. This means that expert clinicians have set out what should be delivered for different types of cancer, no matter where in Wales someone is diagnosed.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I can explain it. And first of all I'd like to correct you on something, and that is that actually we were working through that challenging backlog. In fact, we only had 9,000 people waiting for 36 weeks prior to the pandemic. And, yes, we set out some targets, but, actually, that was before delta hit us and before omicron hit us and before BA2 hit us. So, all of those things of course are...
