3. Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services: The Parliamentary Review of Health and Social Care in Wales

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:56 pm on 16 January 2018.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 3:56, 16 January 2018

Thank you for the comments. You've been consistent in taking an interest in this area, both formally and informally in conversations that we've had. I think the first point that I'd make is that, for all the criticism that's made of NWIS, they have actually delivered a number of things that we're really proud of. If you think about the response in terms of security, the differential where we invested in a system that they've delivered, if you think about Choose Pharmacy, their creating of that and then delivering in partnership with the service, that will make a real difference, and, actually, be directly in this space of making better use of information between healthcare professionals, changing the point of focus where people can go and get that advice and support as well.

So, even with the positive things they've done, it's fair to reflect on where we think they could do better. I recognise the comments that are made in the report and in the Wales Audit Office report and in other suggestions as well, about does it have the capability and the capacity, as it's currently constituted, to do all that we need it to do. Well, I don't think it would be fair to say that it does, because we would place unfair, I think, expectations on NWIS, as it currently is, to do all that we want to do in terms of investing in and releasing the capacity of IT to transform the way that we deliver services and the way that citizens themselves engage in health and care services.

And I also recognise the points about governance and thinking again about whether it's in the right place, whether we could do more, and thinking about how that governance is released. I've indicated previously that I intend to do this, and the report has helpfully not said we need to do something different, in that we do need to carry on looking at that capability, that capacity, and where we find it: how much should be in-house within NWIS, how much should be working with other partners, and how much should be a formal partnership. Because we can't pretend that we can do all of that in the one place. If we try to do that, I think we'll fail. It has to be a different partnership, and we're going to have to set those ambitions and set ourselves a priority, and that may mean we need to look again at the resourcing we put into this area, as well, of course, as the governance and oversight, both for Members, people in the health service, in the care system, and of course here in Government as well.