5. Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services: The Chief Medical Officer's Annual Report 2016-17

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:30 pm on 6 February 2018.

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Photo of Angela Burns Angela Burns Conservative 4:30, 6 February 2018

Cabinet Secretary, thank you very much for bringing forward this statement about the chief medical officer's report. I do welcome this report today. I believe it clearly lays bare the challenges of ensuring that we all age well. It's great news to see the increases in longevity—I, for one, am very grateful to see that—but we must also recognise that over a quarter of the Welsh population will be over 65 in 20 years' time; that's a quarter of our population. And I would like to ensure that today's plans recognise that, so, Cabinet Secretary, I wonder how will you ensure that health and social care services will be delivered fit for a quarter of our population going further forward, especially when we hear things such as the Welsh Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Social Services saying that the key determinants of health are largely outside the control of health services, and so the quality of and spending on social care has to have one of the greatest demands on healthcare.

It's also very good news to see the improvements in cardiovascular diseases and neonatal disorders, and I also recognise the very good work that's been done on hepatitis C. But Welsh Government does need to get to grips, according to the CMO's report, with the stasis that we see in cancer outcomes. And so, Cabinet Secretary, I ask what you might have up your sleeve to help us improve that, because those figures—the dailies on cancer outcomes—have not changed significantly for over a decade. 

The points made by the chief medical officer on gambling are pertinent and, I believe, well made, and I for one cannot understand why we are allowing this canker to develop. In fact, I'd like to pay tribute to Darren Millar because he raised a short debate on this issue back in July 2017, which called for greater restrictions on gambling advertising and fixed-term betting terminals, and I know that this has cross-party support. The then Minister for public health, Rebecca Evans, stated that Public Health Wales were commissioning research to map out all the gambling venues in Wales. An update on progress in this regard would be most welcome, and I wonder if perhaps you might be able to address your intention in that area. 

Although there are other issues and comments, I'd like to finish with the CMO's commentary on protecting the public from health threats and, indeed, staff from health threats. Seasonal influenza is one of the biggest winter pressure threats. It lays siege to GP surgeries and A&Es, and I've tried to get guidance from the British Medical Association as to what can be done to increase the numbers not just of doctors, nurses and healthcare workers, but other healthcare professionals, to take up flu vaccines. The public need galvanising but so, Cabinet Secretary, do the public sector workers. Is there any ability for Welsh Government to look at guidance, statutory or otherwise, for health and care workers to receive the flu vaccine? Because you yourself refer to our seasonal flu vaccination as being an envy of the world, and yet that is in direct contradiction to evidence we hear in the Health and Social Care Committee, and we do know that seasonal flu is one of those great winter pressures. If everybody in this Chamber, all our staff, the public and those who work in the public sector were to have the flu vaccine, it would help with that enormous pressure on our NHS, and I'd be very grateful for your thoughts on how we might increase the uptake. Thank you.