4. Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Winter Protection Plan

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:56 pm on 15 September 2020.

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Photo of Mick Antoniw Mick Antoniw Labour 4:56, 15 September 2020

Minister, firstly to say thank you very much for the work that you and the leader of RCT council did recently when we were failed by the UK Government in respect of the testing capacity. I don't think people will realise that, as I understand it, you both ended up almost virtually working around the clock, through the night, in order to try and alleviate and increase that capacity, and I think that is very much appreciated by those who were then able to get tested. Can I just ask about, though, elective surgery, hips and knees? Because these things do affect people's lives very, very considerably, and I think we all understand the impact that COVID has had on the capacity within our health assets, and I'm just wondering to what extent we can actually get information out to people, explain to them what the situation is, and give some indication of what is happening, with a view to, I suppose, a timetable of trying to restore and increase the amount of elective surgery that can actually take place. People are reasonable, people do understand, and sometimes it is the most reasonable people who are the ones who suffer silently, and I think we have an obligation to at least, I think, be as transparent as possible with them with the challenges we face.