8. What is the Welsh Government doing to avoid unnecessary attendance of accident and emergency services in Wales? OAQ55088

We know that pressures across the whole health and social care system contribute to challenges at our emergency departments. We continue to work with NHS Wales and partners to manage demand across the system in different ways. This includes providing a broader range of care much closer to home.

Thank you for that response, and I heard your earlier responses to Jack Sargeant on that question. The Choose Well campaign, of course, is very obvious at the moment, but, realistically, sometimes people have to choose between NHS Direct and A&E—it is an experience I've actually had myself. I note the minor injury unit review that you mentioned, but what increase have you seen in the number of GP surgeries that are open on the weekends that offer MIU services and the number of pharmacies that are open out of hours?

I can't give you the exact figures on those two particular areas, but I do know that, with our deliberate investment in community pharmacy, we're seeing more services delivered consistently across community pharmacy. Good examples are, of course, the minor ailments service and the sore throat testing service available. Actually, showing the success of that measure, one of the new intake of Conservative Members of Parliament in north Wales was celebrating the success of the sore throat testing service that this Government has introduced, so it shows that we are dealing with real demand in a way that makes a difference.

It's also, then, about our ability to properly staff some of the out-of-hours services, so the 111 roll-out programme is really important as part of it. And it's investing across our whole system. That's why the additional staff that have gone into the clinical desk service in the Welsh ambulance service really matter, because there are more people who could be treated over the phone and discharged, as well as having people who can be seen and discharged without needing to go to a hospital as well. So, there's a range of progress already taking place right across the system, and I look forward to being able to report more on that success over the months ahead.  

Thank you, Minister, for responding to those questions.