Vaughan Gething: I thank the Member for his questions and comments. I completely agree that we are very fortunate that, whilst it was an unusual Christmas, most of us were able to enjoy Christmas at home and safe, and whilst we were doing that, there were people in our health service and other emergency services, and across social care, who were going out to do their job to keep us safe, many of those...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the comments and questions. It was very helpful, I think, to start the comments with not only thanking staff but recognising how unacceptable it is for our staff to be attacked and criticised, whether on social media or otherwise, for the job that they do, and being honest with the public about the scale of the challenges we face. But the scale of the challenge we face...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you. I'll try to rush through as many of the 12 separate questions as I can, Presiding Officer. To start off with, Wales is not lagging behind other UK countries when it comes to the vaccination programme, and you'll see that when the official figures are published tomorrow. It's important that we compare like with like and don't get carried away by misleading press reports. On...
Vaughan Gething: Our critical care staff have not had a break and the awful truth is that patient flow out of critical care is not all good news. Some people do recover. However, mortality rates are making a major contribution to freeing up beds. Current mortality rates for COVID patients in critical care, the figures from the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre, show that in Wales nearly 40 per...
Vaughan Gething: We took this decision as levels of virus transmission continued to grow exponentially. Today, we have seen some levelling off in the all-Wales figures, which are still very high. Sadly, we have seen the predicted and continued growth in north Wales case numbers. As Members will be aware, this is potentially influenced by a new, more infectious strain of the virus. The new variant had been...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you, Llywydd. I'm just trying to move my screen back.
Vaughan Gething: I am now back with you. Thank you, Llywydd. I'm grateful to you for the opportunity to provide this update statement on the position in respect of coronavirus here in Wales, and, indeed, the positive news story today, with the approval of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. But I do want to begin by going through some more of the detail of the current position and, I'm afraid, the likelihood...
Vaughan Gething: To be fair to the Member, the hospital is actually in his constituency, although it's in Torfaen local authority. The reality is that there is a bigger critical care unit within the new Grange University Hospital, and the health board are looking to surge and provide extra provision around critical care. The key limiting factor is staff, and we come back to this difficult conundrum; if you...
Vaughan Gething: With respect, I disagree with most of what the Member has said. I think there's a misunderstanding of the mission of this hospital, there's a misunderstanding of the severity of the threat that the health board faces and the choices that they are having to make with other partners to make sure they are prioritising the interests of patients in the greatest need. The Grange University Hospital...
Vaughan Gething: The two health boards that I indicated earlier in the week have made public their choices to restrict some services—not just elective surgery but a range of out-patient appointments and others as well. I think it is entirely possible that we will see other health boards needing to do the same. And I refer to 'needing' to do the same—not wanting to but needing to—because of the very real...
Vaughan Gething: I thank the Member for his question. I think, with respect, we have already addressed that in what we've said. I understand the fears of different service and interest groups, and I understand very well the position the RCN have taken. They're right that they and all of us should be concerned about the reality of staff absences. I've just come from a call with health boards and local...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you. Wherever feasible, the NHS will strive to continue to deliver essential services for both diagnostics and treatments, based on clinical priority and timeliness. Our NHS will continue to risk assess patients on an active treatment list, to ensure that those with the greatest clinical need are seen as a priority in line with national clinical guidance.
Vaughan Gething: We will also work with the local authorities and want to recognise the way that they have managed to process payments for business support. We have the most generous package of business support in the UK, but that only gets to many businesses because of the work that our local government colleagues have done. And I know that both the local government Minister and the economy Minister are very...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you, Llywydd, and thank thank you to Members for their contributions in today's debate. I have been struck by the tone from the overwhelming majority of contributors in recognising the seriousness of the situation that we face. It was unfortunate that the debate started in response with Gareth Bennett calling for fair play and respect, before going on to make a series of unnecessary,...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I thank the Chair of the committee for his as ever constructive comments and points for us to respond to, not just today. But I think it may be best if I write to the committee to deal with all of the comments that he's made to respect the level of detail that he's gone through. And we do want to make sure that as we need to continue to act, and we'll need...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I move the series of motions before us. Last week, we saw the start of the COVID-19 vaccination programme in Wales. That is clearly very encouraging and optimistic news. The vaccination process will, however, take time, so we must continue to focus our efforts right across Wales to help control the spread of coronavirus. And sadly, coronavirus is once...
Vaughan Gething: We should not be sanguine about coronavirus rates in any part of the country. We are regularly encouraged to listen to a range of people, which other speakers referred to. I think people should listen to Dave and to Lisa, the critical care consultant and lead nurse who spoke on Channel 4 news last night about the position in Prince Charles Hospital. Part of what we have to persuade our...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you, Llywydd, and I thank Members for their contributions in the debate. I'll try and address the main thrust of the arguments put forward by groups of people rather than individually, given the number of people who spoke. The Conservatives have regularly said during this debate that they recognise the severity of the situation that we face. What they actually then asked this...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I move the Government motion before us and I'll address each of the elements of the Government motion in turn. Sadly, coronavirus is accelerating across Wales, eroding the hard-won gains from the firebreak. The seven-day rolling incidence rate of coronavirus across Wales has risen to over 320 cases per 100,000. As of 7 December, there were 1,085 people...
Vaughan Gething: Our focus throughout the pandemic has been to support a flexible and practical approach to help children and families, and I recognise the comments made where families have not felt that that support has reached them. We are trying to ensure that our services work together and deliver as much support possible within the current restrictions that we're living with, and at the centre of this is...
