Pressure on NHS Wales

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:42 pm on 11 January 2022.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 1:42, 11 January 2022

(Translated)

Llywydd, I thank Heledd Fychan for that supplementary question. Of course, I am very pleased to hear that things turned out as they did in the case that she mentioned. The impact of omicron and coronavirus on the ambulance service is very great. There are more people unwell in the ambulance trust in Wales than in any other sector throughout the whole of the health service. So, we've done a number of things as a Government: more funding, more staff, more training, more opportunities to work differently, and at the moment we're also getting help from the armed forces, and there will be more armed forces personnel available to assist the ambulance service over coming weeks until the end of March than there has been at any time during the whole pandemic. Now, that doesn't mean that everything will return to how it was before coronavirus. One of the problems facing ambulance service staff is that the number of people who require their assistance and who are suffering from coronavirus has also increased, and that takes more time—they have to wear PPE, they have to disinfect the ambulance, and so on and so forth—and that slows down the opportunities to get out on the road once again to help others. So, the situation is challenging, but we as a Government are doing everything that we can to support the ambulance service, and now we have other sources of help too.