Vaughan Gething: No, I don't accept the Member's point at all; I think it's hugely important that we are following not just the professional advice but the advice on the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine. And it's important, again, to note that we're talking about this one vaccine, the Pfizer candidate vaccine that's been approved for supply today, which needs to be stored at -70 degrees centigrade....
Vaughan Gething: No, I don't have the specific figure for the drop in detection of oral cancers, but I recognise that dentists are about a great deal more than checking how many teeth you have and giving fillings. They make a huge difference to oral hygiene in a range of areas, including helping early warnings with oral cancer. So, it is an area of concern. I think there's a really important point for all of...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the Member's question. Of course, we rehearsed some of this last week in the short debate on the cross-party group on cancer's report. I do want to reiterate my thanks for not just the Member but Members across the Chamber who have highlighted this as an issue. It's a really important issue—to have the right equipment and, also, the right staff to be able to use that equipment...
Vaughan Gething: Diagnostic services are a fundamental part of how we deliver health services. Our commitment to those services is outlined in the statements of intent for imaging and pathology, the endoscopy action plan for Wales and the national strategy for genomics. These are all supported by a number of national programmes.
Vaughan Gething: Yes. The vaccine roll-out will certainly help in preventing some forms of nosocomial transmission. It would also help with residents in care homes in terms of our ability to protect staff going to those care homes and those residents who are mobile. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has provided advice that all four chief medical officers have endorsed, and health Ministers...
Vaughan Gething: On the last point, there is further, specific guidance the Government needs to give to the Hywel Dda health board. They're aware of the quite detailed advice that's been provided on a number of occasions. The most recent guidance that came out from that nosocomial transmission group went out on 6 November. But these are really difficult challenges to manage. In the overall picture, about 3...
Vaughan Gething: Well, unfortunately, as the Member knows, I'm not familiar with the individual circumstances, or indeed, as I understand from what he said, as the constituent tested positive in the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt hospital, I'm not sure when the infection can be traced to. But there's a broader point here that the Member is trying to make, and that is about how successfully our hospitals are...
Vaughan Gething: Throughout the pandemic, the Welsh Government has issued a range of comprehensive guidance to support health boards in preventing COVID-19 outbreaks from occurring in hospital, and limiting the spread and severity of outbreaks when they do occur.
Vaughan Gething: I have had regular meetings with my Ministerial colleagues across the UK since the pandemic began. The First Minister has been clear that he would like a regular and reliable rhythm of four-nation meetings so we can learn more from each government’s response to the pandemic.
Vaughan Gething: Wales-wide simulation exercises testing distribution and storage arrangements have taken place to ensure we stand ready to deploy vaccines safely to Wales. As approval has now been received for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, we will begin to administer in line with UK Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation advice.
Vaughan Gething: Delivering cancer services involves multiple specialities and interventions, with patient pathways across and recross organisational boundaries. This requires close working relationships, integrated pathways of care and particular attention to maintaining person-centred care. It's important that we have a shared understanding of how to improve cancer services and outcomes. We know that we...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank you to David Rees for tabling this short debate. I welcome the work of the cross-party group and its report that was published last week. The report sets out the challenges facing cancer care and outcomes in the context of the pandemic. I'm pleased to see that there's much commonality between the recommendations of the report and our own...
Vaughan Gething: In the recent BBC Wales Investigates interview, I clearly described why our priority must be to respond to the pandemic in a structured and measured way. This involves developing approaches to support patients most in need of planned treatment, and I also indicated that we are already looking at broader steps to plan for the future. We do have an agreed way forward at health board level to...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'd like to thank Members for their contributions to today's debate and deal with the Government amendments and comments made during the debate. It's a fact that, before the COVID pandemic, we had made four years of continuous improvement in waiting times across Wales. The last year, the pace of improvement scaled as a direct result of the tax and pension...
Vaughan Gething: Formally moved, Deputy Presiding Officer.
Vaughan Gething: Thank you, and thank you to Members for their comments. I'm not half Danish, unlike the Chair of the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee, but I do have family in Denmark—I have a brother, a sister in-law and two nephews. I don't think that that materially affects my decision making in this regard, particularly as these are additional restrictions that we're debating. I should...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I move the motion before us. The regulations before us today provide that passenger planes and ships travelling directly from Denmark, and accompanied freight, will no longer be able to land or dock at Welsh ports. They came into force on Saturday 14 November. The regulations follow the urgent action that had been taken across the UK by all four...
Vaughan Gething: This decision today puts patients before politics in making what is always a difficult choice, but a choice that is driven by the very clear advice we have had in the tripartite process. I recognise that Conservative speakers are predetermined not to accept or recognise this good faith decision. That is a matter for them, and people watching will make their own judgments about whether they...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I will deal with the specific points, and then I will come back to the accusation at the end. It's worth pointing out for—. I think that there's an element of misunderstanding in terms of the comments about the musculoskeletal service and its link with orthopaedics. This was actually north Wales that took a lead in the 'physio first' approach and looked...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the comments and questions. I should say, in terms of your final point, that of course we did start this Assembly term, as it was then, now a Senedd term, with a parliamentary review. The UKIP group at the time supported the creation of that group and, indeed, the membership of it as well. So, we had an independent group of experts who came up with a report on the significant...
