6. Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:29 pm on 12 October 2021.

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Photo of Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Labour 5:29, 12 October 2021

Diolch yn fawr, Heledd. Can I just make it clear that our NHS services are under intense pressure at the moment? It's not because they are not working hard. They are working incredibly hard, as they have done for 18 months. Frankly, these people are already exhausted. A lot of them are off sick. A lot of them have COVID. So, you have to understand that, every time that that happens, there is more pressure on the people who stay. So, I would ask the public in Wales to act sensibly and to be sensitive to the fact that the people on our front line are now really facing a very, very difficult winter.

I do think that we have to understand that that means that, sometimes, we are going to see the need for those services to be concentrated in some areas because of the staff pressures that are happening. So, I do feel that it's important that people understand that, as we’ve seen this week in south Wales, maternity units are having to really concentrate their efforts because of that staffing situation. So, I would ask people to really, just during this time, be understanding of the severe pressure on our systems at the moment.