Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:59 pm on 13 June 2023.
Llyr Gruffydd
Plaid Cymru
1:59,
13 June 2023
In tackling the pressures on the NHS workforce, we must also have public health campaigns that are robust, that prevent the need for healthcare in the first instance. Effective Intervention by the Government to decrease the number of preventable diseases is vital in that regard—conditions such as type 2 diabetes, which affects around 180,000 people in Wales at present and costs around 10 per cent of the entire current NHS budget. Now, there is a quality statement for diabetes that will be the focus of an oral statement later on. I've had a look at what has been released by the Government already, but there's no mention made in there about the preventative agenda. May I ask you, therefore, about the latest information about the progress of the all-Wales diabetes prevention programme by your Government? And have you investigated options to increase the budget allocation for that, as you outlined that you would do in your 'Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales' strategy for 2022-24? Because, investing to prevent type 2 diabetes would not only improve the health of the population, but would save money for the health service in the future.
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