Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much. I am extremely concerned about the backlog; it keeps me awake at night. The fact is that I'm spending most of my time these days trying to make sure that we have a very clear recovery plan. That planned care programme will, as I say, be published in the next couple of weeks. We're just trying to finalise the details on that. Tomorrow, you'll be aware that new waiting lists...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much, Russell, and I'd like to join you in thanking our health and care workers who have worked so diligently to keep us safe and to protect the people in their care over that very difficult period, but also to extend my sympathies to those who have lost loved ones in very difficult circumstances, where they weren't even able to give them the kind of send-offs that they may have...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much, Mike, and I absolutely agree that we do need to provide alternatives to A&E, which is one of the reasons why we've invested an additional £25 million and set out six priority actions that we expect health boards and the ambulance service to deliver on. We're hoping that urgent primary care centres—there's £7 million earmarked for those—will provide a new model for...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch yn fawr, Sam—thanks very much for that. And I'd like to join with you in thanking all of our NHS and, indeed, our care workers for the incredible work they've done over the past two years. And I think it is worth reflecting on the pressure that they've been under for that prolonged period. Part of the issue that we have, of course, in Glangwili is actually the fact that we have...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I don't accept that there's a crisis, but I do accept that there is huge pressure on the service at present. I've had another meeting with the chief executive of the ambulance service this morning, as I have regularly, because we are determined to improve the situation. Of course, the thing to remember is the fact that this is part of a whole system, and the fact is that, at present, there...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you. Hywel Dda health board is working at speed to ensure that people in Carmarthen East and Dinefwr have timely access to urgent and emergency care. We are supporting the health board through additional targeted funding to enable improvement in quality and timeliness of care at the A&E department at Glangwili.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: We are providing health boards with up to £3 million in 2021-22 to boost access to NHS dental services and £2 million recurrently from 2022-23 to support increased provision. Health boards will be able to invest this funding in NHS dental services to address local needs and issues.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much. Of course, the standards that we're seeing, in particular in that service in north Wales, are not acceptable, and that's why we will be keeping a very hawk eye on the situation and those 22 recommendations. I think it's really important that we understand that there probably is a failure in terms of systems and that's why, of those 22, there have been some very clear...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch yn fawr, Rhun. I've said, and I'll say it again, that the vascular services and the services offered in Betsi are not at an acceptable standard. I did issue a written statement on 3 February following that report by the royal college of surgeons, and it was very disappointing to find that there were some really fundamental and basic things that were not being done—deficiencies in...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch yn fawr. I welcome the intervention announced by Healthcare Inspectorate Wales today. The escalation of the vascular service within Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board to a service requiring significant improvement supports the strong steer I gave on 16 February 2022 that the health board needs to address the service issues with immediate effect.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much, and I must say that I would endorse your view that these have become really skilled workers. They have done a terrific job for us, and certainly kept the rates lower than they would have been, thanks to their huge efforts. Of course, we're reluctant to let these people go. There was obviously a time when it would have to come to an end, but, as you say, this is rather an...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much, Mark. This is an issue that has been ongoing for a long time, so whilst the Wales and England systems speak to each other and they can record and we can know exactly if people have had a first vaccination and a second vaccination in England, the system has never worked with Scotland. And the responsibility for that and the people leading on the digital side of this is...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Just in terms of ventilation in hospitals—
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: —there have been lots of reports and assessments made in terms of making sure that people are taking that situation seriously, so every health board knows exactly what they need to do in this space. I've given an answer on the core participants' status, but I think it's really important that we do stand by our health and care workers and give them the medical support that they need. They...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: The lateral flow tests will continue to be available from pharmacies until 31 March. Discussions are taking place with our partners to ensure that those vulnerable people who are digitally excluded can continue to access tests when they need after 31 March. So, there is a facility for you to phone up and to get that support, or you can obviously order those online. We're also working with our...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much, and I too very much hope that this is the last major statement with regard to COVID, and I very much hope that we can continue and focus on other issues regarding the NHS in future. Just in terms of the absence of funding, if we needed to return to some of these measures in futures, there's always funding in reserve and we would have to make a case to the Minister for...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch yn fawr. Thanks very much, Russell. I'm glad that you're welcoming the lifting of restrictions. Of course, our job is to keep Wales safe. Other Governments keep their own people safe, but our responsibility is to do it in the way that we believe is correct for us, and we do that by always trying to follow the evidence and the science. But we've always been very clear that, actually, it...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: We hope that our vaccines will continue to be effective and that the national health service will not be overwhelmed. Our public health response will be based on the existing, well-established protocols for communicable diseases, and the surveillance and reporting of COVID-19 will take place alongside the reporting mechanisms for respiratory infections. We will begin to integrate our very...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much, Llywydd, and thank you for the opportunity to give an update to this place on the recent information on coronavirus.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks for the opportunity to provide an update about the current public health situation, the outcome of the latest review of the coronavirus regulations, and our plans to move beyond the emergency response to the pandemic as we move to live safely with coronavirus in the longer term. I’m pleased to report that cases of coronavirus continue to be well below the peak that we saw with...
