Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:49 pm on 16 May 2017.
Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for his statement? I’m really pleased that we are getting this opportunity in Dementia Awareness Week to again listen to the views of Members. I also welcome the fact that the Welsh Government is taking time to consider what has been a very well-responded-to consultation. I think it is absolutely the right approach to get this strategy right, although I would add that I think it is essential that what we come out with at the end of this process is a strategy that is sufficiently ambitious to meet the scale of the challenge we face in Wales with dementia.
I very much welcome what you’ve said about the strong emphasis on a rights-based approach, which I believe has come from the excellent input of the dementia engagement and empowerment project, and I do take this opportunity to pay tribute to those people who are living with dementia who I know have really transformed the work of Welsh Government on this issue.
I do have a few specific questions. The first is on diagnosis rates, and I heard what you were saying, but I make no apologies for repeating the point that 50 per cent would not be enough for a disease like cancer, and it shouldn’t be enough for people with dementia. I understand what you’re saying about the need to be realistic, but I would like to see the work that you are doing in keeping this under review aimed at a more ambitious diagnosis target. I’d also be interested to know in your response today to what extent diagnosis rates have come up as an issue in this consultation, because I know it was in the health committee’s response, it was certainly in my response on behalf of the cross-party group, and I’m guessing it was in a vast majority of the responses, that people want that ambition to be there for a better diagnosis rate target.
The issue of support workers has been mentioned by several people. My specific concern, as it has been throughout, is that we’re going to need more of them than the plan is proposing. So, I’d be interested to know how your thinking is evolving on that, because the 32 that are set out currently is not going to be enough, and I’d be interested to know whether you are re-evaluating that.
You will be aware—and I’m grateful to you for coming to the cross-party group to talk to us and to talk to people living with dementia—that palliative care and end-of-life care was a very important issue that came out of that meeting, and I’m pleased that that’s been picked up in the statement. I’d be grateful for an update on how your thinking is evolving on that.
I’m also grateful to you for picking up on the issues that I raised following the cross-party group on the Gypsy/Traveller community, and your acknowledgement that there hadn’t been enough work done to identify the needs of that community in relation to dementia. So, I would like to ask how that work has come on, because I know that you were looking to do more consultation with that community.
And just finally to say that today I’ve been up at Big Pit in my constituency, attending the launch of the new dementia-friendly underground tour, and I’m sure you’d want to join me in congratulating Big Pit and National Museum Wales on an excellent and groundbreaking initiative. But can I ask you, Cabinet Secretary, what you see the role of Government now being to actually make sure that all that good practice that we are seeing, resulting from really hard work in different communities in Wales—and there is a tremendous amount of good work going on out there—is actually being rolled out across Wales by Welsh Government? Thank you.