Vaughan Gething: The Welsh Government is working on an all-Wales basis with key stakeholders, such as Public Health Wales, health boards, including, of course, the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board serving Islwyn, trusts and local authorities on plans to distribute a vaccine when one does becomes available.
Vaughan Gething: I thank the Member. That's a really important point. The effectiveness of our 'stay at home' message is really important, but we have balanced that by saying we positively want people to be able to exercise and to exercise safely. And we've seen that it is possible to go for a walk, to go for a cycle and to do that with your own household at this particular point in time. And we want to see...
Vaughan Gething: I think there are couple of points to make in response. The first is that with the firebreak that we're going through, we should remind ourselves (a) that there was a rising tide of coronavirus that necessitated the need to have a firebreak, to give us space to make sure we don't overwhelm our NHS and have unnecessary harm and death being caused. We chose to prioritise the interests of...
Vaughan Gething: There are a wide range of well-established public health programmes. These are unprecedented times and sadly COVID-19 has a disproportionate impact on older people, those with underlying health conditions and, indeed, on people from black and Asian origin backgrounds. The safety and protection of the public is a key priority, and we are of course being guided by the latest scientific evidence...
Vaughan Gething: I think there are two points to make. The first is that our health service is now in a different position to where it was in March and April. Our ability to test everyone who is coming in, regardless of the reason, is there now and that is being applied consistently across the service, so people can have that extra reassurance that an extra check is being undertaken, and this is all about...
Vaughan Gething: Those are fair concerns, and to be fair, the Member has regularly asked questions in this area. So, when we talk about COVID-related patients, we talk about all those people with confirmed COVID as well as suspected. The reason for that is it changes the way the health service needs to treat those people once they know that they're a suspected case. That has an impact on the number of staff...
Vaughan Gething: I think that's a really important question, again, to remind ourselves in the Parliament, but also the public that we serve, that the impact isn't just about COVID-related harm. The reason why we introduced the firebreak was to interrupt the rise in admissions and the rise in harm that we are now seeing, that we thought we would see when we introduced the firebreak. And that's because, when...
Vaughan Gething: The number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals continues to rise here in Wales. As of 3 November, the number of COVID-related patients in hospital beds was 1,344. That is 21 per cent higher than the same day last week. This is the highest number of COVID-related patients in a bed since 25 April, and we are approaching the April peak in bed occupancy.
Vaughan Gething: So, 'yes' to the final point—yes, of course, there have been conversations led by the chief medical officer's department, as you'd expect, with the different parts of our healthcare services about how a vaccination programme would be delivered. In terms of your point about priorities, we again will have UK advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation about how to...
Vaughan Gething: As I'm sure he'll have heard, the UK Government is leading the work on funding and procuring vaccines for each nation of the UK. The Welsh Government is working closely with key stakeholders, such as Public Health Wales, health boards, trusts and local authorities on plans to distribute a vaccine when one does become available.
Vaughan Gething: There are two things that I'd say to that. The first is that we're taking the same approach that every nation in the UK is on the procurement and supply of a vaccine. There's nothing unusual in doing that. And actually, whilst I can and will continue, no doubt, to be sharply critical of the UK Government where I disagree with them, on the issue of the procurement and supply of vaccines, I...
Vaughan Gething: I think it's a slight miscasting of the way that the system is actually working to say that we're leaving it to the UK Government. There are a couple of things to run through in terms of clarity. So, the first is that the UK Government, as it does with a range of other programmes, including, for example, the seasonal flu, procures the vaccine on behalf of the whole of the UK. We then take our...
Vaughan Gething: I've taken seriously the evidence from the whole sector—from the Welsh Local Government Association, as both providers and commissioners, as well as providers themselves. We've also had engagement with trade union representatives too. So, this is a considered position, having worked with the sector in advance of it. We're moving to a position where lighthouse labs, when it comes to their...
Vaughan Gething: As I've indicated, we have to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, because not dealing with it, not taking effective action, will undermine our ability to treat effectively people with non-COVID health conditions. The plan is to make sure that we have an operating framework that allows us to carry on treating non-COVID patients. I don't want to see our national health service turned into a...
Vaughan Gething: Well, as the Member will know, the Office for National Statistics published their latest weekly report last week, and it indicates that the excess deaths in each country of the UK, but certainly the detail on England and Wales, pretty neatly matches the number of COVID-related deaths we're seeing. And, so, it does show the significant impact that COVID is having across all areas. So, dealing...
Vaughan Gething: We are working with our clinicians and our services to restart a range of cancer services. You'll be aware that we've restarted screening services. You'll be aware that referrals in cancer are up to normal levels. The challenges we have are that we are now seeing more people presenting even later than before, and, pre-pandemic, part of our concern was that people, particularly in our less...
Vaughan Gething: Yes, I've already indicated previously in public that we'll be publishing that much wider data of NHS statistics, including referral-to-treatment times, this month. So, on the normal statistics day that we would normally publish matters in November, we'll do so across the wide range of areas, from unscheduled care to cancer services, to normal referral-to-treatment. So, you can expect to see...
Vaughan Gething: Yes. The priority for the Hywel Dda University Health Board is their response to the unfinished COVID-19 pandemic. The health board is planning for the continued provision of essential and key services alongside caring for patients affected by COVID-19, and working towards the delivery of more routine services where safe to do so.
Vaughan Gething: Well, it's absolutely the case that clinical need should be what leads to how people are prioritised at all times, and especially so now, because we know that some people will have waited for longer because services were postponed, and others will have opted out of the service. But, actually, for some of those people, their needs will be even greater now. So, yes, that's a very clear message...
Vaughan Gething: Well, Dr Lloyd accurately set out the challenge in the rise in people waiting that we acknowledge is a direct consequence of the action we've had to take to keep people alive during the pandemic. And that difficult balance in the choices we make and the different harms that are caused is very much in the minds of myself and other ministerial colleagues in all of the choices we make. I've also...
