Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much, Sioned. This follows on from the discussion we had in the Senedd last week. I thought that was a very detailed and appropriate debate from everyone who contributed. We're highly aware of the difference in terms of where COVID has hit hardest, and it's clear that those in poorer areas, in poorer households have suffered more than other areas. Therefore, as we rebuild from...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: We are supporting all areas in reducing community transmission. Local action and protections are targeted at areas where rates are increasing. The virus spreads more easily in urban areas where the population density is higher.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much. We have set out the guidance clearly. I know that Julie Morgan has ensured that she's done everything in her power to allow people the access they need to go and visit their families. The current dementia plan—. We're looking to the future now, and I think there is an opportunity there to see how far we could go with individual rights. But I would have thought that...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much, Rhun. I am highly aware of the fact that so many people are experiencing dementia the length and breadth of Wales, not just those in care homes, but there are many people living at home too who have been isolated, have had less social contact, and we have seen decline during that period among elderly people particularly. And that is why, time and time again, we have...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much, Joel, and it's disappointing to hear what you're setting out there. I know that officials are currently assessing the most recent submissions against those criteria that we set out in those all-Wales standards for communication and information for people with hearing loss. What those standards do is set out what every patient or service user should expect from those...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much, Joel. The Welsh Government requires NHS organisations to assess barriers to accessing healthcare that affect people with hearing loss in line with the Equality Act 2010. Annual reports are submitted for assessment, detailing achievements made towards implementation of the all-Wales standards for accessible communication and information for people with sensory loss.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much, Delyth. I'm pleased to say that the sickness levels within the NHS have actually reduced from a week ago, so they were at about 8.3 per cent of staff off a week ago, now down to 7.3 per cent and, of those, around 1.7 per cent were off with COVID, and about 1 per cent of them were off for self-isolation reasons. So, the rest of them were kind of normal sickness that happens...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much, Laura. I can't tell you how aware I am of the many thousands of people—not just your constituents, but people across the whole of Wales—who are genuinely suffering at the moment and are in a lot of pain. So, it is, after COVID, my first priority to get those waiting lists down. We're already working very hard with the health boards. We've set out some clear guidance in...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch yn fawr, Rhianon. I think what's really important is that we make it absolutely clear that it's never too late to arrange an appointment for a first or a second vaccine or a booster dose. So, together with our health boards and a wide range of partners, we're encouraging vaccine take-up, making it as easy as possible to get the vaccine, by offering a really flexible service that adapts...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: As of 12 January, there were 178 COVID-related patients in hospital across the health board area.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Our committed NHS workforce have gone above and beyond under sustained pressure during this pandemic. Whilst the data suggests a relatively stable picture in terms of staff retention and recruitment, we continue to closely monitor the situation and support NHS Wales organisations with their initiatives to sustain staff engagement and wellbeing.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I expect people attending hospital to have access to safe and timely assessment and treatment, as determined by clinical priority. However, as in other parts of the UK, significant staff absences and reduced capacity have impacted on flow, and led to some people waiting longer than we would expect.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: We are supporting social care with significant additional funding, recruitment campaigns and by working towards the real living wage for care workers. We continue to work as part of the Social Care Fair Work Forum to improve employment terms and conditions in the sector. These measures will support hospital discharges.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much, Rhun. Just to respond quickly to Russ—.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Sorry, Russ, I did suggest that the COVID pass QR code would be ready on 6 February; it was 8 February. Just so that I've corrected that already.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Rhun, is it possible to move more swiftly? Well, I am reluctant to say that it is because one of the things that we are concerned about is that we haven't quite seen what's happening in the schools yet. There are signs in some other places where we're seeing an increase in the numbers of cases in our schools, so the concern is whether that is then going to feed into the adult population and...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much, Russell. First of all, on the isolation period, you'll be aware, Russell, that we've already reduced that from 10 to seven days, and the UK Health Security Agency, interestingly enough, their evidence previously was very robust on the fact that they wanted to stick at seven. Now, my understanding is that the underlying evidence on this has not changed. I still haven't seen...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: If the public health situation continues to improve, from this Friday 21 January onwards, all outdoor activities will move to alert level 0. This means no limits on the numbers who can take part in outdoor activities, crowds can return to outdoor sporting events, and outdoor hospitality venues will be able to operate without additional measures. However, the COVID pass will be required for...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much, Llywydd. Thank you for the opportunity.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you for the opportunity to update Members again this week on what is very clearly a very fast moving public health situation. Last week, I reported that there was a possibility cases could still peak over the next seven to 10 days, and since then we've been monitoring the situation very closely. During the past week, we have in fact seen some very clear signs of improvement, which...
