2 November 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
Thanks very much, Gareth. We clearly have to be very careful about protecting the vulnerable at this stage. The best way to protect the vulnerable is to make sure that they have been vaccinated, and that’s why we’re very keen to make sure that we prioritise…
2 November 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
Diolch yn fawr, Huw. I will try to make sure that I pass on your thanks to Transport for Wales, and thank you for raising it directly with them. We're obviously continuing those conversations with Transport for Wales, but, clearly, it does make a difference…
2 November 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
Thank you very much, Rhun. We are doing a lot now to try and reinforce the system—that is what our discussion was during recent weeks, particularly with Transport for Wales. So, those discussions have been ongoing with Transport for Wales to ensure that they…
2 November 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
Thanks very much, Russell, for many, many questions there. I'm not sure I'll get through them all but I'll give them a go. First of all, on the beds in Wales, and the number of beds in hospitals, my understanding is that the number of beds that have been…
2 November 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
We have agreed that the best option now is to strengthen some of the current measures we already have in place. These include vaccination, and specifically a speed-up of the roll-out of booster vaccinations, and vaccines for those between 12 and 15 years of…
2 November 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
Thank you for the opportunity to update Members on the COVID situation, during what is already proving to be a very challenging autumn. Now, in my last update I was able to report cases decreasing and plateauing, indicating we were potentially passing the…
2 November 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
Thank you, Llywydd, for this opportunity to update Members on the situation with COVID.
19 October 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: The Health and Social Care Winter Protection Plan 2021-22
Thanks very much, Joyce, and the one thing that I have learnt since being appointed to this role is the absolute interrelationship between health and care. And it is really important that we understand that part of the reason for the fact that we have…
19 October 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: The Health and Social Care Winter Protection Plan 2021-22
Thanks very much, Gareth. Can I assure you that we are speaking very regularly to representatives from the independent care sector as well? We're very aware of the kind of pressures that they're working under at the moment. I think it probably is worth…
19 October 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: The Health and Social Care Winter Protection Plan 2021-22
Thanks very much, Vikki, and you're absolutely right that it's really important that we alleviate the pressure on the places that people traditionally go for support, and that's why we have a very active campaign, 'Help Us Help You', which is ongoing at the…
19 October 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: The Health and Social Care Winter Protection Plan 2021-22
Well, thank you very much, Rhun. One of the reasons why we were eager to ensure that there was an opportunity to give that briefing to some of you this morning was to ensure that you saw or had some kind of idea before half term, because we are aware that…
19 October 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: The Health and Social Care Winter Protection Plan 2021-22
I think it's really important that there is an understanding that there was always a plan for us to publish this report at a winter learning event, which is going to take place on Thursday, so that we're engaging with the NHS directly. The only way this plan…
19 October 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: The Health and Social Care Winter Protection Plan 2021-22
Mental health will be central to the support that we will be providing over the winter months. It will remain an essential service, irrespective of the pressures that we are likely to face. In terms of primary care, including GP services, there will be a real…
19 October 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: The Health and Social Care Winter Protection Plan 2021-22
Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. Every year, the NHS develops a plan for how it's going to manage with the increased demands over the winter, and this year is no exception. The preparations have been taking place already for many months. We are making this…
12 October 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
Diolch yn fawr. I think it’s unfair to say that we knew lots about COVID when it arrived. The very fact that we didn’t know for a long time that people could carry COVID and they were asymptomatic—that was something that we learnt much later on, after it had…
12 October 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
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…
12 October 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
Diolch yn fawr, Huw. Thank you for recognising that, because of the COVID passes, we are hopefully able to keep some of those venues open that may otherwise have faced closure. Certainly what we are very pleased to see is that, actually, there has been a…
12 October 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
Thanks very much. I'm not sure which press conference you were listening to, but I can assure you that I was very clear, I made it clear that it was a disease that we'd never seen before, none of us knew how it was going to impact, none of us knew how it was…
12 October 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
You heard the First Minister this morning talking about the fact that, actually, we need to wean ourselves off this assumption that you will always see a GP. There are people who are as good, as qualified, who can support us with our health needs who are…
12 October 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
Diolch yn fawr iawn. Thank you for those questions. On the winter plan, I'm afraid you're going to have to wait for that to be published. So, good try, trying to get some information out of us, but we'll let you know when we're ready to publish that. You've…
12 October 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
On Friday, we published an updated coronavirus control plan, setting out the main ways in which we will keep Wales safe. Essentially, these are: vaccination, test, trace and protect, and continuation of the basic measures that we can all do to protect…
12 October 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. Thank you very much for the opportunity to update the Chamber on the COVID situation and our plans to keep Wales safe during a difficult autumn and winter ahead. Now, before I give my update, I'd like to acknowledge World…
7 October 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
General scrutiny session with the Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Minister for Social Services and Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing
It's probably one for Julie, but it's really one more for Jane Hutt, really, isn't it, Julie? But I'm sure you know more about it than I do.
7 October 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
General scrutiny session with the Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Minister for Social Services and Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing
We're unlikely to publish a child health strategy. Just to be clear, children's health is absolutely a top priority for the Welsh Government, and, of course, we want to make sure that there are excellent integrated services that put their needs first. But we…
7 October 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
General scrutiny session with the Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Minister for Social Services and Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing
Diolch yn fawr. You've just heard some of the ways that we're looking to tackle this. Let's just be clear that these are absolutely unacceptable levels for a Labour Government. We are absolutely committed to addressing the issue of child poverty in Wales…
