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

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:06 pm on 29 April 2020.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 2:06, 29 April 2020

I don't think I am necessarily the best person to offer a comprehensive answer to that question, because the answer will rely on people with expertise in many different dimensions. I just want to remind the Member that, six weeks ago, we faced the position here in Wales where we had a genuine fear that coronavirus would take off to an extent that our NHS would be overwhelmed—we wouldn't have either beds in critical care or ventilators that were necessary.

I remember a very sober conversation with the leader of Plaid Cymru one weekend, when we talked about the invidious position that clinicians might face where they had to choose between people who would be offered treatment and those who might not be. All the efforts that we have made—in the NHS, in social care, and by Welsh citizens—mean that we are not in that position and have not been in that position.

So, the death rates of course are hugely concerning, and comparisons will be made of what has happened here with what has happened elsewhere, but in doing that let us not just set to one side the enormous efforts that people have made to avoid those very, very difficult and painful positions that at one time we thought were a realistic prospect here in Wales.