Vaughan Gething: Yes, the technical advisory group is chaired by our chief scientific adviser on health. He co-chairs it. It does include a range of scientific expertise; it does include modellers; it includes people from public health backgrounds and others as well. So, it's a variety of people to try to understand the science and then to convert that into advice that is useful for our system and for...
Vaughan Gething: On your final question about fertility treatments, I'd need to go through more of the detail. If you'd be happy to send me a note, I'll be happy to provide you with some more detail on the points that you raise. In terms of people undertaking a variety of vaccination programmes, the point I made earlier stands, that we don't anticipate there being, at this point in time, a challenge with...
Vaughan Gething: Well, I think it's some jump to link the challenges over nurse rotas, where actually I played a part in getting the employer and trade unions back in the room to discuss matters and to resolve them, and to link the position now with the question on paying some of our poorest paid workers—a largely female workforce—in domiciliary care and residential care. I think that's just a leap too...
Vaughan Gething: I expect to be able to provide that within a fairly brief timescale. It's why, I think, having a testing target that isn't linked in to what we actually want to achieve doesn't actually make any sense. It's also the point that I made previously about having a testing target in isolation, where we're not in control of all the elements of it. The commitment to expand our testing capacity has...
Vaughan Gething: Again, I think it's a really important point that Huw Irranca-Davies makes about people who've been isolated in life and death; that it's very, very hard, both for people who know they're nearing the end of their life, but also their families who may not be able to see them and derive a sort of comfort and closure that those of us who have suffered loss within our own family and friends would...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the series of questions. On your first point, about actual rates of coronavirus infection, of course, these are the recorded instances, and we always have a health warning in every part of not just Wales, but the rest of the UK, that the real figures are likely to be higher. So, I'm not going to be drawn on definitive comparisons of different parts of the UK, but we know that...
Vaughan Gething: I'll happily deal with those three areas. The first is probably the easiest. There is absolutely no instruction to the chair of Public Health Wales that she can't brief opposition party leaders. We're providing a huge amount of information on a daily basis and, indeed, there are regular briefings that I provide to the official opposition spokesperson and Rhun ap Iorwerth in his role for Plaid...
Vaughan Gething: On the final point made there, about the provision of oxygen treatment earlier in a patient pathway, it's a matter we've discussed. It's a matter where we've had clinical correspondence—not just letters from Mr ap Iorwerth—and it's a matter that our clinicians are actively considering. So, I'll discuss the matter again with our chief medical officer, about whether there is a need to...
Vaughan Gething: Well, on dentistry, we know that they've had to close down, apart from emergency procedures, but if they're undertaking NHS contract work then the PPE guidance should apply. If there are specific instances for me to address then I'd appreciate it if the Member, or others, could provide me with those details, because I haven't had a sector-wide issue across dentistry brought to me in the past....
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the series of questions. On the point about financial support, the position is as indicated in my initial statement: when providing £40 million-worth of support for adult social care, we'll continue to review provision. We're already having direct conversations between my officials, the Welsh Local Government Association and members of the independent care home sector about the...
Vaughan Gething: This is obviously complex, but minimising harm and determining where care is time-sensitive are the key priorities. Innovative solutions are and will continue to be found, including the use of digital and IT to provide those answers, as well as considering regional solutions, for example for cancer treatment. There remains, though, a need to balance the risk and benefits of having treatment...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you, Llywydd. Members will, of course, know that I have committed to keeping you informed about COVID-19 developments, and this is my latest statement to do just that. The challenge from coronavirus is far from over. We have been successful in ensuring that our NHS has not been overwhelmed, but we continue to operate in an uncertain environment, and that will continue for some time...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you, Llywydd. Obviously, the comments in question after my statement had concluded were not intended for broadcast or entry onto the record. I did speak with the Member for Cardiff Central on the day in question to apologise, and I'm grateful to her for accepting my apology. I am, of course, happy to withdraw the remarks and provide the apology to the Assembly and the Presiding Office...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for that final set of questions. On PPE, I just want to reiterate that we're taking an approach to pursue all leads and working constructively with other nations in the UK, because it's the responsible thing to do. And, in normal times, we'd be engaging in politics as normal. I think it's time to put all of that decisively to one side to get the right equipment for our staff. And...
Vaughan Gething: Yes, thank you. I think there are a couple of points I'd make briefly in response, and that is that it's a good news story that Aneurin Bevan don't need to make use of the capacity that is available at the Grange now. That demonstrates the impact of our social distancing measure, but the important message about not having complacency about what we're doing now so that people don't suddenly...
Vaughan Gething: As Mr McEvoy will understand, I don't have those particular figures at my fingertips, but I can absolutely confirm there's been no complacency and no denial on the scale of the challenge that we face, and if he'd just listened to the statement and the questions that I've answered in public on a range of occasions, we've distributed millions of additional items across health and social care....
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the questions. I want to reiterate, on PPE, the point about the guidance needing to be followed. The last thing that we need to do is to encourage people to use PPE in larger quantities outside the guidance, because whilst that might provide some people who don't need it with more confidence, it will take away the supply from our front-line staff who really do. What we need is...
Vaughan Gething: Okay. On the starting point, I just don't accept the premise that there's an inexcusable failure not to deliver a larger amount of testing. I've explained on several occasions the reasons why we weren't able to do it, the factors that were outside our control and what that means, and the direct advice we've had from our chief medical officer and our chief scientific adviser on health on how...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you, Llywydd. I think there were eight separate points made. I indicated we had about a week's supply of fluid-resistant gowns, we expect to receive more this week, but I was trying to be open with people about the position, and indeed staff and the public. On hospice care, I did announce extra money for the hospice sector. PPE guidance needs to be followed within that sector as well,...
Vaughan Gething: Yes, I'm happy to confirm that, when it comes to staff returning to the health service, there are over 10,000 staff who have now returned to the register that the NMC hold, and about 5 per cent of those are staff from Wales. That's a really good news story, because that's slightly more than our population share, and it does show a real willingness from recently retired staff to want to...
