<p>NHS Services in North Wales</p>

Part of 2. 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport – in the Senedd at 2:51 pm on 13 July 2016.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 2:51, 13 July 2016

Well, I absolutely agree with the point that is being made, and this is part of the challenge of dealing with headline RTT, actually, because lots of people who are on lists at present don’t actually need operative procedures, and so, it’s partly about making sure they go to the right place at the right time at the start of their care journey. So, for example—I’ve talked about this before and I’ll keep on saying it, because it is a really good and obvious example—physiotherapy services and primary care. About 30 per cent of people who attend GP appointments have musculoskeletal problems. Almost all of those people could see the physiotherapist first, and most of those people will have their issues resolved by the physio. If they then need to be referred on, either to a GP or a specialist, that can take place. That will release pressure away from the GP—and also what we’re doing in pharmacy as well. The Choose Pharmacy platform is really important, because of not just the value of the minor ailments scheme, which is of value in itself—and we’ve seen examples of significant percentages of people being deferred away from the GP to pharmacy appropriately—but also the opportunity for more services to be delivered in the community pharmacy setting, releasing time and pressure for GPs to see people who really do need them and the expertise that they provide. So, that will be a consistent theme of this Government, and I believe patients will see a definite difference and improvement as a result.

Cabinet

The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.

It is chaired by the prime minister.

The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.

Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.

However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.

War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.

From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.

The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.