2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:33 pm on 1 February 2022.

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Photo of Lesley Griffiths Lesley Griffiths Labour 2:33, 1 February 2022

Thank you. Irrespective of whether a person does or does not have capacity, it remains absolutely essential that decisions relating to end-of-life care are made on an individual basis. It's unacceptable for advanced care plans, with or without do-not-attempt-resuscitation form completion, to be applied to groups of people of any description, and these decisions must continue to be made on an individual basis according to need. I know, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, both the chief medical officer and the chief nursing officer wrote to all health boards jointly to ensure that there was clarity around ethical decision making for people, and I believe a further joint letter reiterating this position was issued in March of last year. So, I will ask the Minister to consider whether a further letter is necessary.FootnoteLink 

In relation to hepatitis C, I think there is a need, and I'm sure the Minister for Health and Social Services would agree, to invigorate the drive to eliminate hepatitis C in Wales. You'll be aware of the unprecedented response to tackling the pandemic and, of course, there has been a shift in resources, but I know the Minister has been working very closely with health boards right across Wales to look at recovery plans, and there was a national workshop held last Ocotber where a range of work streams were under way, looking at how we can prioritise our next steps. I was reading about hepatitis C in Wales, and we were the first country in the UK to achieve elimination in a remand prison, and that's Her Majesty's Prison Swansea, and I know we're looking at a roll-out in HP Berwyn in my own constituency, because we really do want to eliminate hepatitis C in our prisons.