Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:49 pm on 27 June 2023.
Thank you to the Minister for her statement, and for giving us sight of it beforehand. This announcement is to be welcomed, and of course it is important to ensure that as many people as possible are vaccinated here in Wales. It is an undeniable fact that vaccination and immunisation have saved and do save millions of lives across decades.
Now, the statement refers to misinformation that is being shared about COVID vaccinations, whilst we also know about misinformation about MMR vaccines too, and it's surprising how many people continue to be doubtful of flu jabs, even. You mentioned one way that you hoped to roll out a broader understanding, and that was by use of an app. Of course, with Rhun ap Iorwerth and Mabon ap Gwynfor, you could turn to Plaid Cymru for information on apps. [Laughter.] But I wonder how you will ensure that people download the app. And how will you tackle things like The Light paper that provides disgusting misinformation across the country, and how do you ensure that mainstream news learns of these important things and the importance of vaccination, as well as encouraging people to use the apps? How are we going to get that information to permeate through to the public?
The Minister will be aware of GPs' concerns about the proposal to centralise procurement. Russ mentioned the concerns of the BMA about this too. Their concerns, of course, are their inability to negotiate their own prices for vaccinations. When similar plans were introduced in Scotland, the Government there provided £5 million in order to support GP practices so that they could convert to the centralised system. So, whilst the Minister's statement mentions funding the NHS to establish a team to oversee the delivery of vaccination programmes, there's no talk about how much money or what kind of support and what kind of budget will be available for GPs to help them in the process of transitioning to the new system. So, I wonder if the Minister could expand on how GPs will be supported to cope with the transition to this new central procurement system and follow the example of Scotland.
Last year, when Plaid Cymru asked the Minister about financial support for GPs if this Government were to adopt a central vaccination procurement system, the Minister mentioned at that time that there were examples of GPs not ordering enough vaccines, and the Government having to step in. The Minister mentioned that in her response to Russell George a little while ago. But the BMA's Welsh council isn't aware of any significant shortages in the procurement of vaccinations by GPs. I do note, however, the recent advice of the Minister to GPs not to procure flu vaccinations for people aged between 50 and 64 this winter. We have to bear in mind that if there were to be a change in the Minister's thinking on this issue now, then there would be a shortage of flu jabs this year as a result of that advice. So, can the Minister provide some detail as to how many GPs she's aware of that have under-procured vaccinations in the past, and also acknowledge that if there is a shortage in flu vaccinations this winter, that that will be as a result of her own advice rather than anything else?
The Minister also referred to digital infrastructure, and it's good to see this at the heart of the framework that is being introduced today. This will be an important development, not only that modern technology can enable better order, but it's also extremely important in ensuring that patients get the right vaccinations. But I've mentioned in this Chamber previously about the different computer systems being used within the NHS in Wales. So, will the Minister expand on this new digital system and give us an assurance that this new system won't be held up amidst the complexity of all the different digital systems currently being used in the NHS, and that it will work seamlessly, as they say, with other digital systems in the NHS? Thank you.