Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:04 pm on 25 January 2022.
I think the consensus view, certainly amongst the international experts that I've been reading, is shifting towards a complementary strategy, which obviously has a role for primary care, but complements that with these specialist clinics in a condition where knowledge is fast developing. Now, estimates around the world suggest that between 10 per cent and 20 per cent of children who contract COVID-19 develop paediatric long COVID, and, using ONS figures, it is possible to estimate that well over 5,000 children in Wales currently are suffering this condition. If the Welsh Government is not prepared to set up specialist clinics for adults, for the reasons the First Minister has outlined, is it at least prepared to do so for children whose entire lives risk being scarred if they do not get the fastest possible diagnosis, the best medical advice and the most effective treatment, based on the latest knowledge? Surely, after what this generation of young people have already gone through, they deserve nothing less.