, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Yes, as I've already answered to previous colleagues, there is a range of reasons why screening offers are not taken up, some of them are things that Government can act on, together with the health service, to address, others are more complex and are common…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
I agree that reducing those barriers to access is absolutely essential. There are currently 11 mobile units in Wales, and they rotate across more than 100 locations on a three-year cycle. The intent of the programme is that they're located within, as he says…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Certainly. In relation to screening uptake in Islwyn, Public Health Wales monitor uptake rates by GP cluster, by local authority and health board area. So, the uptake for Caerphilly county borough is 71.2 per cent, and for the Aneurin Bevan University Health…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
The Public Health Wales screening engagement team work closely with the voluntary sector, health board and the local authority, including through community connectors and hub officers within the Islwyn area, to increase awareness of screening through…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
No. I can confirm that the Government does not see allied health professionals as a secondary part of the workforce. The strongest evidence for that is the increase in the numbers of recruitment and commissioning of training places across a range of AHP…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Well, I think the Member may have misunderstood the purpose of making that point clear. It isn't a point to celebrate; it's a point that indicates the scale of activity in the health service. I think that is something that is important to highlight. There are…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
I don't think we have failed to hold them to account. As you know, we've been very clear in terms of our expectations of the health board. It's not acceptable that people are waiting for the length of time that you mentioned in your question. I want to see…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
The Member knows very well that there's a difference between the point that the First Minister made yesterday and the point that I'm making today. There is no credible commentator anywhere that believes that his party in Westminster properly provided capital…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Well, on the Member's first point, I actually think that the public in Wales, and patients in Wales, are better served by a response to his question that engages with the substance of the challenge, rather than looks for a headline in a one-word descriptor of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
I don't believe that her experience is acceptable, and I'm very sorry for the experience that she has had and those affected by it more broadly than her own personal experience. That is not an experience I want any patient in Wales to have, ever. I think it…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Well, that's a matter for the health board to be satisfying itself about. I speak as a non-clinician addressing a question from a clinician, so I'm diffident in the confidence with which I approach my answer. But he makes an important point. In my visits to…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
I'm happy to do that. I'm sorry to hear about his constituent's experience. We have taken specific action to support the health board to reduce orthopaedic waiting lists, which has historically been a challenge, in the way that the Member refers to. An…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
We have supported the health board to create a centre of excellence for orthopaedics. All elective orthopaedic surgery within the health board has now been centralised on the Princess of Wales hospital site, with three dedicated theatres and a ward of 28 beds…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
I'm grateful to the Member for drawing attention to that positive experience in the service that she refers to in Betsi Cadwaladr health board. One of the approaches of the maternity and neonatal assurance assessment that is currently under way, which I…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
He makes an important point about the approach to improvement in this area generally, and I think he makes an important point about the limits of targets as well. And our approach, certainly, has been an improvement-first approach, with national standards and…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
I thank the Member for sharing his own experiences in his contribution.
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Well, I would associate myself with the comments that the Member has made. The loss of a baby at any stage of pregnancy is an incredibly distressing experience for all those who are affected. Stillbirth rates in Wales have declined by around 17 per cent since…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
We remain firmly committed to reducing stillbirths and neonatal deaths by ensuring that all families receive safe, high-quality care. The quality statement for maternity and neonatal services sets clear national standards for consistent, evidence-based…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care: NHS Winter Pressures
Cardiff and Vale has been involved in the planning with every other health board since March of last year, so it's a collaborative process and it's been ongoing for a long time and earlier than in other years in order to be able to create more capacity. There…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care: NHS Winter Pressures
Yes, certainly. The winter sprint fortnight was implemented this year as a means of focusing the entire system on a small number of metrics that we know can make the biggest difference to improving capacity in hospitals and the flow of patients. It has had…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care: NHS Winter Pressures
I can hear the distress in her voice, and I share it. I've seen that first-hand myself, and I agree with her, it is unacceptable. None of us want to see a friend, a family member, or a neighbour treated in an inappropriate setting. So, it's our approach as a…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care: NHS Winter Pressures
On the latter, I don't have the data in front of me, but I'll certainly write to the Member with that figure for the beds today. On the first point, he'll be aware that in previous discussions in the Chamber I've said that we will be using the winter sprint…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care: NHS Winter Pressures
I thank Julie Morgan for that. I think it is important. Necessarily in these discussions, we focus on the challenges in the NHS, and that's very appropriate, but it is true to say that most people's experience of the NHS most days is positive. The…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care: NHS Winter Pressures
I wish the Member well in his recovery. I agree with him that the staff at the Grange, and the other hospitals that he will have had the benefit of care from, have been playing a remarkable role in recent weeks and months. We want to make sure that people are…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care: NHS Winter Pressures
The Member makes an important point about ambulance response times. There has been a difference in the performance of the service depending on the level of acuity of the patient. At the most critical end, median response times have been positive, and within…
