4. 3. Statement: End-of-life Care

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:34 pm on 16 May 2017.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 3:34, 16 May 2017

I’ll try to be brief, Deputy Presiding Officer. I recognise the points made around the role of specialist prescribing. I recognise the challenges on core funding. It would not be honest of me to say that I can deliver a significant amount of extra core funding. We’re all aware of the pressures on every public service at a time of reducing budgets, and the extra money going into the healthcare budget comes at a real cost to other parts of the service. So, I won’t make promises that I can’t deliver in this or another area. I do recognise the points you make about black and ethnic minority communities, and the progress Marie Curie have made. I think there is a challenge there for the rest of the hospice movement and, indeed, the health service to understand those particular challenges and make better provision.

And finally, this is the point about having a statement, having this conversation—it is still a taboo subject. We need to get back to a point where it is a much more normal conversation. So, I do look forward to having this conversation again with Members, both within and outside the Chamber, about how we’re trying to renormalise a conversation about the most inevitable event. Birth and death are the two inevitable things about our life, and we don’t spend anything like enough time talking about it, discussing it, and then we can all have as good a death as possible.