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

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:36 pm on 22 April 2020.

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Photo of David Rees David Rees Labour 3:36, 22 April 2020

Diolch, Llywydd. I can always be succinct, as you know. 

Three areas. PPE: I will want to highlight PPE because, again, I do get concerns from care home providers and also domiciliary care providers regarding PPE. It's important, I think, that we ensure they have sufficient levels, and I do think the guidance can be strengthened by Public Health Wales, because if you're in a lockdown situation, a care home is likely to be seeing infections because of an asymptomatic member of staff coming in with the virus and passing it on, so they should actually be using PPE at all points in time, not just when a case occurs within that home. So perhaps you could strengthen PHW's advice and guidance on that. 

Also in care homes—. I appreciate the website coming through, which will make things easier, but can you also look at ensuring that it's easier now for care home providers to have referrals by simply asking the council to do it directly, rather than having to go through PHW, which is causing more concern for some of the care home providers when members of staff are symptomic and they want them tested? A direct referral to the council might help that. 

Finally, I very much appreciate what you said to Rhun ap Iorwerth in relation to your discussions with health boards as to the preparations to introduce other treatments relating to the provision for non-COVID issues, but I've also received information that cancer referrals from GPs in other parts of the UK, in some areas, have gone down by 75 per cent. Are we aware of what percentage of cancer referrals—urgent cancer referrals—from GPs have changed, and will you look into this matter? Because it could be that patients are not wanting to go to GPs at this point in time, or it could be because GPs are being advised that certain types of conditions need to be met and they are therefore hesitant to refer themselves. We need to ensure that those who receive that type of urgency are not delayed because of a fear of overburdening the health system at this point in time.