, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Thank you. As you're aware, a proposal was made to the Welsh Government by the integration and rebalancing capital fund pathfinder project in 2022. There was a need for a lot more work done on that proposal, and therefore the health board had to carry out…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
I am aware of proposals for the development of a new health and well-being centre in Holyhead, and discussions are ongoing between Welsh Government officials and the health board.
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
You're quite right—the demand on the service is quite incredible. One of the things we've seen is a huge increase in the number of referrals to the NHS. In 2019, it was 1 million a year; in 2023, 1.2 million a year. That's a significant increase in the number…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
We recognise the need to improve healthcare provision throughout Wales, and are working with health boards to achieve this through 'A Healthier Wales', our 10-year plan for health and care.
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Thanks very much. As you know, we've done a huge amount of work to try and already change the contract. It's very interesting that England is looking at changing the model that they've got because they recognise that something has to be done there. So, we do…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Thank you very much. You are quite right—I think there has been a problem in this area. The Welsh Government is funding around 74 places in the Cardiff school of dentistry, but applications and places have increased 23 per cent since 2023. But it is truly…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Workforce planning is the responsibility of individual health boards, based on the specific needs and requirements of their population. This is done via their integrated medium-term plans, which are submitted to Health Education and Improvement Wales. These…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Thanks very much. The fact is, we've been—. If you look at the overall numbers who need support, we are talking about hundreds of thousands of people. So, how do you prioritise those? You're absolutely right—we have to look at the most urgent cases. The…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Thanks very much, Natasha, and you're quite right that it's probably the most difficult area of all and an area that I'm absolutely committed to addressing. That's why, in the past month, I have given an extra £4 million to hospices in Wales. Let's not forget…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Latest figures show six of seven health boards have hit the target to ensure 97 per cent of all waits are less than 104 weeks. The number of pathways waiting for more than two years fell again for the twenty-third month in a row. The average waiting time is…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Well, of course, I would expect the health boards themselves to be holding that information. But what we do have now is the NHS Wales Executive, which is really honing in on some of that detail. And the six goals programme that I referred to is an example of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Thanks very much. We've actually got a whole strategy around this. It's called the six goals programme. It's a very comprehensive programme, and it's made a huge difference already. So, I know it may not feel like that, but if you think about things like the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Well, thanks very much. First of all, can I welcome Sam to your new role as Conservative spokesperson? And before we get into a discussion, I just want to pay tribute also to Russell George, with whom I worked over a number of years. I just want to pay…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Thanks very much. Well, one of the things I'm very proud of is the fact that we've now reduced the age at which screening takes place in relation to bowel cancer, and that is already making a difference. And people are quite keen to get involved in that. Some…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Thank you very much. Well, I do think we need to be really careful. We perhaps sometimes overmedicalise some of issues that come through our GP surgeries, and that's why I do think that there's a real opportunity when it comes to social prescribing. This, of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
We deploy a range of strategies to support people in Wales to live healthy lives. Not smoking, being physically active where possible and being a healthy weight are all positive steps we can take to prevent avoidable diseases, such as type 2 diabetes.
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
We've made no secret that the challenges around dentistry are real, and we have made efforts, through changing the contract, to address some of those issues, in particular for those people who haven't been able to access NHS dentistry for a long time. And I'm…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Diolch yn fawr. I know that the former First Minister led the way, when he was the health Minister, in terms of making sure that we use the whole team around primary care, certainly in terms of general medical services, and I'm grateful to you for that. But…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Diolch yn fawr. The Welsh Government has long held the view that health professionals should try and work at the top of their licence, allowing others who are appropriately qualified to intervene where appropriate. Until recently, a regulatory issue prevented…
, Plenary
Short Debate: Primary care and the preventative agenda
Gum disease and tooth decay can often be prevented by a healthy lifestyle and proper tooth brushing. We want to reform the dental contract on a preventative basis, in terms of responding to risk and need, and we have introduced up to 300,000 appointments to…
, Plenary
Short Debate: Primary care and the preventative agenda
Well, it is a national contract. The pharmacy contract is a national contract, so I don't quite understand that. Obviously, if you don't have a high-street optometrist in your local area, then it's difficult for us to provide that service if it doesn't exist…
, Plenary
Short Debate: Primary care and the preventative agenda
Sure.
, Plenary
Short Debate: Primary care and the preventative agenda
Diolch yn fawr. I'd like to thank Peter Fox for bringing this debate to the floor of the house today. I'm really grateful for the opportunity to talk about this really important topic of prevention and the primary care agenda. Our long-term strategy for…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
I think it's worth underlining once again that there will now be a night-time service in north Wales and there'll be an improved service in north Wales because that service will now be available. It's not currently available—they have to travel very far from…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
Thank you very much. I'm sure that some of your constituents will also be content that there will be an additional service now in north Wales at night, and that is a step forward. At the moment, that service isn't available. I do think that it's also worth…
