Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:08 pm on 14 September 2021.
Thank you very much, Dirprwy Lywydd. Yes, there are things that haven't been decided yet. Vaccine passports are one of those things. I think that the Welsh Government is correct to keep the option open. I note that Sajid Javid in Westminster today has confirmed that the Conservative UK Government will keep this as an option for plan B for the winter. So, a difference of opinion between the Welsh Conservatives and the Conservatives in the UK Government in that regard.
But, if I can turn to the things that have been announced today and over the past few days, I welcome the announcement with regard to the boosters. I welcome the decision too in terms of vaccination, and offering the vaccine to children between 12 and 15 years of age. I note, in particular, the warm welcome of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health for this as a step to safeguard the wellbeing of children and young people. May I ask this question on that: what resources and support will be given to parents and families and children to enable them to make a decision regarding vaccination?
This will take time now, of course. I look forward to seeing more detail on the vaccination process for this cohort. But, we know in the meantime, of course, that the number of cases is still increasing. There are two counties today that have placed schools in the highest risk category—Neath Port Talbot and Swansea—with a number of restrictions expected to be introduced in schools in those counties. Do you expect this to become a common step to be taken in all parts of Wales?
And also, as we are still seeking the emergency protections for schools, I am pleased that the Government has made a u-turn on the announcement on ozone machines. I raised concerns, as did many other people, regarding this strange choice of that technology. I ask you, as Minister, to look at the other technologies that we have more experience of using. I’ve talked to the Minister before about UV light; I’ve been reading and taking an interest in air filtration machines, which are used very widely now, including in New York, where they’re used very widely. Is the Minister willing to look at that and willing to listen to and read information that I could provide to the Minister, in terms of potential providers of those kinds of machines?
A few other issues. I welcome the reference to long COVID and I still press the Government to ensure that Wales is in the vanguard in trying to understand more about this condition and the steps that need to be taken to safeguard people who have suffered for a very long time, some of them, and very intensely, some of them, as a result of contracting this virus.
But I want to conclude by looking at the wider pressure on the NHS. My thanks to everyone are so great, to everyone within the health services and care. We heard earlier reference to the ambulance service, which is under huge pressure at the moment, but across all of the health services and care services, our thanks are great, and there are questions about the steps that need to be taken as a matter of urgency to protect our health services.
One thing that I would like to hear more about is a commitment to provide much better data to understand what is happening in hospitals, particularly the relationship between the number of people in hospitals, in intensive care units, who lose their lives even, who’ve received the vaccine and those who haven’t. I think that would be useful for us to get a better picture and a more informed picture in terms of what’s happening with regard to the virus at the moment.
In terms of the pressure on our hospitals, I understand that Abergele Hospital has decided to close because of pressure in general hospitals. Perhaps the Minister could confirm that, along with the fact that elective orthopaedic surgeries there have again been postponed. We can’t afford to lose more time in treating non-COVID cases because we already have a crisis in that regard. I appeal here for a plan that safeguards that element of our health provision, because as we face the winter, where we always have a problem, there is a danger now that the problems will become even more intensive, and that’s why it’s high time to ensure that non-COVID activity can continue without more barriers than are needed.