7. Will the Minister provide an update on the progress of the Choose Well campaign this winter? OAQ54927

Thank you for that question. We are continuing to monitor and review Choose Well materials to ensure these target the intended audience. We are also focusing specifically on a digital first approach this winter, while retaining the My Winter Health Plan scheme for those who don't have access to the internet or social media.

Thank you for that answer, Deputy Minister. During my pre-Christmas visit to Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr, I was pleased to meet a range of staff, including the Red Cross staff working in the emergency department on the well-being and home safe service. And I think the health Minister's written statement this morning recognised that we should all be aware of the contribution that organisations like the Red Cross actually make in supporting the NHS.

I was also pleased to see in the Minister's statement that a ministerial task force is to be set up and will be looking at alternative pathways to avoid unnecessary attendance at A&E. So, in parallel with this, can I ask what more can be done to raise even more awareness of the Choose Well campaign, in order that we can direct patients to an appropriate location for their health needs? Because whilst there's clearly a lot more to do in managing the pressures on our emergency system, part of the solution must be to ensure that people who shouldn't be in A&E get the help that they need where they need it, when they need it, in the most appropriate settings. 

I thank Dawn Bowden for that very important question, and I would certainly want to commend the work of the Red Cross in the hospital in Merthyr Tydfil and also thank all staff across NHS Wales and the social care sector who, as we know from the discussions we've had here this afternoon, are working under pressure to provide care to the people of Wales. So we are working very closely with all the health boards and social care service providers to ensure that they do deliver the best outcome for patients and to support the further practical work that we need to do.

The Choose Well scheme has been successful. It has succeeded in directing more people to send their queries to other places rather than turning up at the emergency departments and A&E, and we're continually monitoring what the message should be. We're also ensuring that we have a message about mental health in the Choose Well programmes, that people recognise the difficulties that people experience and the mental health problems that crop up, particularly over periods like the Christmas period, so we're also looking at that.

But we are also continuing the scheme where we get all the information about a person and ask them to pin it up somewhere, like on a fridge in their room, so that there is information available in the home for professionals when they're asked for help, in order to try to do the best for the patient and to try to keep them at home, if possible, in all circumstances.

Finally, question 8—Alun Davies.