Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:11 pm on 2 March 2021.
I think people across Blaenau Gwent and elsewhere join you in thanking the national health service and the work of Welsh Government in ensuring that the vaccine programme is progressing so quickly, so efficiently and so effectively, both in terms of first doses and second doses; that's certainly our experience here in Blaenau Gwent.
There were two questions I had for you, Minister, first of all on unpaid carers and, secondly, in terms of those people who are housebound. In many ways, you've already answered the first question, so let me address the issue of patients who are housebound. The impact of the vaccination programme is being felt in all of our communities, and I'm seeing and talking to people here in Blaenau Gwent who have had their first dose, who are waiting and will receive their second dose, and that's having a real impact. But there is a group of people who are housebound, who are unable to reach either the GP's surgery or the mass vaccination centres. I'm hearing increasing concerns from families, mainly, of people who are waiting, who are in some cases quite elderly and quite frail, who have not received opportunities to have a dose yet because they're unable to reach either a surgery or a vaccination centre. Can you ensure, Minister, in your discussions with leaders of the vaccination programme, that we're able to reach everybody equally, so that people who are housebound and by their very nature are some of the frailest people in our communities are not inadvertently left behind?