Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:00 pm on 9 March 2021.
Thank you for raising two really important issues. On the first, I just want to reinforce what Leanne Wood has said this afternoon about how important it is to go to your GP should you have any concerns about symptoms that might be related to cancer. The message really is that your NHS is still there for you in these difficult times. Our cancer recovery guidance has been part of the NHS framework planning system since quarter 2 of last year. Health boards are already planning their treatment capacity for cancer care on a quarterly basis, and also responding on a day-to-day basis to deliver as much cancer treatment as they possibly can in the context of the pressures on their services. As we start to emerge now from this second wave, we are looking specifically at how we can move permanently to recover cancer services, and feeding that into our border recovery plans for the NHS, which I have just referred to in an answer to Paul Davies. I can also add that, in February, my colleague the Minister for health held a national meeting with NHS Wales to discuss the recovery of cancer services specifically. Proposals are currently being developed to support that recovery, again as part of that broader recovery approach that I described. So, there will be further information coming forth in due course—as I say, by the end of the month—in respect of the recovery of the NHS.
On the matter of the memory day, I can confirm that we are currently giving very good thought to how best we can mark what will be very sober moment, I think, in terms of the journey that we have all been through in respect of coronavirus. I'm sure that we will be able to say more on that very shortly.