3. Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:54 pm on 22 April 2020.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 2:54, 22 April 2020

On the final point that Angela Burns raised around data collection and uses, I'll happily review the data so we can be more certain about its accuracy and how it's then used to address areas of improvement and learning right across the system. I think it's always a fair point to think about how we review what we're doing and why and how information is used to enable us to improve.

On finance, I want to restate what I said yesterday: no local health board will be penalised for the action they have taken in responding to the once-in-a-century threat that coronavirus presents. I've spoken regularly with chairs and chief execs across the NHS family and it's not been raised with me at all that there are anxieties about how the finance will be reconciled at some point during the year, but it is just a point of accuracy that we aren't certain on the consequentials. From the headline statements that are made, we then have to translate what really arrives in Wales.

And the other point that none of us can avoid is the fact that we don't know the exact progress of coronavirus and the stress and the pressure that it will produce, not just in the significant additional resources we've put into creating a network of field hospitals, but, of course, the significant and ongoing pressure not just to provide PPE but, of course, the very real cost pressure that provides in itself and balancing that up against other activity that isn't taking place where costs aren't going but those staff are then largely redeployed. So, the financial movement around the system isn't certain, but to restate: no health board, no trust in Wales will be penalised for the activity that they are taking to keep all of us safe.

On testing, it is up to 1,800 tests today. Each Tuesday morning, I'll be publishing an update on the increase in testing and the forecast, and later today, I'll confirm a range of other figures. But in terms of the time frame for testing, my understanding is that I should be able to confirm when I've published matters today—and it's a matter of regret to me that I wasn't able to do this before today's session—that well over 90 per cent of people have their test results within two days of the test taking place. We've undertaken over 27,000 tests here in Wales, and on a per-head basis that means we're undertaking more testing than Scotland or England are. So, actually, our rate of activity compares with other UK nations. Our challenge is not just what we need in the here and now to make sure that critical workers including, of course, front-line health and social care staff, other emergency services and other partners receive that testing, but, obviously, the point that I've made repeatedly about the scale of the testing operation we need ahead of lockdown being withdrawn to make sure that we have a much more significant scale of testing and the spread and access to that testing as well.

On PPE, I just want to restate: we are far from complacent or sanguine about where we are. We know that we are running with a forecast of PPE coming in, but we're reliant on supplies coming in within each week to make sure that we're secure. The position on fluid resistant gowns we saw in England over the weekend is not something that we're taking any comfort in because we weren't in that position, because we do know that we need supplies coming in on a regular basis to make sure that we're not in that position where we have to reconsider what to do if the first source of PPE isn't available to us and to our staff. I can't give a running total of the amount of PPE that we've acquired outside of the four-nation purchasing routes, but we do continue to run through each of the opportunities that are presented to the National Procurement Service. We want to look at individual opportunities to work alongside other UK countries. And that is still taking place as well as our four-nation procurement. And what we've agreed to do is to be open with each other across the four Governments about how much we've got of each item. Because the mutual aid that the First Minister referred to that we provided to Northern Ireland, we may be looking for that mutual aid to be provided in the future, whether it's from England, Scotland or Northern Ireland. So, the openness we need is really important to make this work because the market that we're in is so competitive and so uncertain that an individual nation approach is not going to serve our staff or the public well. But I'll happily keep you updated in our regular conversations about where we are and the questions that I know you're asking in correspondence as well. I'm happy to do so.