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

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:06 pm on 29 April 2020.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 3:06, 29 April 2020

Thank you for the series of questions. On the point about financial support, the position is as indicated in my initial statement: when providing £40 million-worth of support for adult social care, we'll continue to review provision. We're already having direct conversations between my officials, the Welsh Local Government Association and members of the independent care home sector about the sort of support that could be made available and the base upon which that could happen. It's not actually a straightforward matter, but obviously I'm concerned that care homes remain in business. It's not just a matter of sustaining part of the business sector—they're in a different position to other businesses, because these are businesses who are caring for some of our most vulnerable people.

On the rest of your range of questions largely about the care home sector, we already have regular reporting, a commitment to regular reporting, which I've confirmed earlier this week. That's work that we're doing both within the Welsh Government, with our chief statistician and with the Office for National Statistics. There'll be regular reporting in public each week about what we understand the position to be, and I think that's important in terms of assurance and making sure that we're open and transparent.

On asymptomatic testing: this was well covered in questions to the First Minister in his statement, so I just repeat again that if you simply test everyone and anyone in the care home sector, it does not provide the assurance that people may seek, because the same people could be symptomatic or asymptomatic but positive the day after having had a negative test, and we do need to understand the utility and the purpose of the testing regime that we implement.

There is, though, a question—and I've discussed this today with the chief medical officer—about whether or not we ought to revise our testing strategy approach, based not only on a developing evidence base, but the evidence around the utility of a test if someone in a care home does test COVID-19 positive, and whether we do then need to test other residents or staff, and if so, on what basis? In terms of the time it takes from referral to test, I'm really pleased to say that the evidence we've had both from local government and indeed the improving evidence from the independent care home sector is that they're being much quicker and that people are being referred and then tested on the same day as a matter of course. And I hope that's really helpful in terms of providing the assurance that the sector and the wider public need to hear, because, as I say, this is a matter of real priority for the Government and the national health service.