2. Statement by the First Minister: Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:01 pm on 8 April 2020.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 2:01, 8 April 2020

In relation to PPE and the distribution schedule, the chief medical officer has a weekly meeting with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges; the Royal College of Nursing is, I'm sure, represented there and I'm sure the chief medical officer would be very happy to discuss whether a distribution schedule is an useful tool for members of royal colleges. Our own shared services organisation procures on behalf of Wales. In addition to the supplies we get through the new UK arrangements, we've always been able to secure our own supplies. And in general, my advice to local authorities and others is that it is better to be part of that national effort, although I understand that many organisations have their own suppliers and some long-standing arrangements that they are able to draw on. But we are lucky to have NHS shared services here in Wales—a national organisation with a very good reputation and a very skilled workforce, who are working hard to secure PPE, including from overseas, including contacts in China as well.

Adam asked me a couple of questions, Llywydd, about clinical matters, and my answer can only ever be that I have to be guided by the best clinical advice that I have. So, our clinicians will of course be looking at international evidence of early intervention, and whether there are regimes we should adopt here in Wales. They are far better placed than me to make that assessment, and where our clinicians believe that there are new things that can be done, and that they will be clinical effective in responding to the coronavirus, then of course we will support them in their efforts. The same has to be said as far as our approach to testing, tracking and isolation. The regime we have is the regime recommended to us by the four chief medical officers of the United Kingdom. If there comes a point where their advice to Government is that we need to move in a new direction in relation to testing, then you can be sure the Welsh Government will take their advice. There's no such thing as uncontested advice. We know that there are many different views amongst clinicians and academics and other experts. What Government can't do, what Ministers in the Welsh Government can't to, is to pick and choose between those competing voices. We have to rely on the most senior and authoritative voices that we have, and those are the four chief medical officers that work together very closely to advise all four Governments across the United Kingdom. It's their advice we rely on, and their advice that I continue to take.

As far as ventilators, our concern is—. It's a very good question. Vaughan Gething published on 5 April a detailed statement setting out existing capacity, invasive, non-invasive, the store that is on order, the number of ventilators that have already arrived in Wales. What we then have to do, as I know that Adam Price understands, is we have to match that capacity to the curve of the disease, and because we are not yet completely sure when that peak will be, a precise answer to the 'Have we got enough?' question remains a bit in the balance. What I think we can say with confidence is that the actions we have all taken in recent weeks have suppressed the curve to a point where we can have a much greater degree of confidence that the additional supplies we have of ventilators will match the current pattern of illness much more closely than would have been the case a month ago when we had fewer ventilators in the system and a very different pattern of disease in front of us.

Llywydd, as far as Roche is concerned, I've answered questions on that for about 10 days now, and I've really nothing further to add this afternoon to what I've already said on the record.