Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 1:59 pm on 2 December 2020.
I'm grateful for that answer, health Minister, in particular your assurance that there'll be additional millions of doses coming in by the end of December to the United Kingdom. What I'd like to check with you as well is the resilience of the NHS to deal with the vaccination programme and its everyday work. Last week, we spent considerable time looking at waiting times, and we know the waiting-time backlog that's built up. Can you give us assurance that, obviously, the NHS has the capacity to deliver this ambitious vaccination programme and there will be no distraction from the everyday need that the NHS has to treat the people of Wales in their everyday requirements? It would be my belief that we should have a Minister for vaccination here in Wales. I appreciate that's for the First Minister to decide. I'm not putting that observation to you, and I make no judgment on your performance. It's not a point I'm trying to score against you in any shape or form, but I just think the magnitude of what we're talking about and the length of time that this programme will take to deliver requires that laser-like focus as well as a dedicated focus on the NHS and the position that our NHS finds itself in at the moment. So I'd be grateful to understand the resilience that the NHS has to deliver this vaccination programme and no distraction from the important task of bringing down those waiting lists here in Wales.