Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:24 pm on 27 June 2018.

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Photo of Angela Burns Angela Burns Conservative 2:24, 27 June 2018

Let me clarify it slightly for you, Cabinet Secretary, as you seem to be struggling slightly there. I notice, for example, that the Member for Cynon Valley recently tabled some written questions seeking information around the procedures in place surrounding hospital patients self-administering their medication. It appeared that she received some fairly stock answers to it.

Now, let's have a look at the example of people with Parkinson's. They may enter hospital for reasons that may or may not be related to Parkinson's, and find that the hospital's drug round does not coincide with their own medication regime. However, as you will know, in Parkinson's, a minor change in medication timing can have major negative effects on symptom management and general recovery. The uneven release of dopamine can result in a person suddenly—in Parkinson's—not being able to move, get out of bed, or walk down a corridor, and it can also lead to serious complications such as pneumonia and bowel obstruction. Parkinson's UK have launched a campaign entitled Get It On Time to ensure that drugs such as levodopa, which are prescribed to treat Parkinson's, are administered at regular times of the day—a campaign that's been successfully introduced in Canada. What advice would your department be able to give health boards about implementing such a scheme in Welsh hospitals, because this is proving to be a problem where a person's tried and tested drug regime does not fit in with the drug prescription regime of a hospital when they're in a hospital setting?