Health
New guidance to keep Wales safe this Christmas – Restrictions from December 27
THIS Friday (Dec 16) the First Minister will set out a two-phase plan to respond to the current delta variant and the new, fast-moving, easily transmissible omicron variant, which is expected to be the dominant form of the virus in the UK by the end of the month.
The Welsh Government is issuing strong guidance to support people across Wales through the Christmas period.
Wales will then introduce new restrictions, including for businesses and services – from 27 December. These will include a 2m rule on social distancing in offices and putting extra measures in place to protect customers and staff, such as one-way systems and physical barriers.
Nightclubs will also close. These tougher restrictions are needed to help control the spread of omicron.
First Minister Mark Drakeford said: “Delta will continue to be the main cause of coronavirus infections in Wales up to Christmas. But we are seeing cases of omicron increasing rapidly every day in Wales – and across the UK.
“We need a plan to keep us safe this Christmas and we need stronger measures to protect us afterwards, as we prepare for a large wave of omicron infections.
“Omicron poses a new threat to our health and safety. It is the most serious development in the pandemic to date.
“It is one we must take seriously. We will continue to put in place proportionate measures to protect people’s lives and livelihoods.
“This is a virus which thrives on human contact. Every contact we have is an opportunity for us to spread or catch the virus.”
The First Minister will urge everyone to follow five simple steps for a safer Christmas, as he says the more people we see in the run-up to Christmas, the more opportunities the virus has to spread.
Reducing our contact with others, especially if we are seeing older people or more vulnerable people over Christmas, will help to protect them from the virus.
To stay safe in the run up to Christmas, the Welsh Government is strongly advising everyone to follow these five measures to stay safe:
• Get vaccinated – and if you’ve had your booster appointment, please make attending your priority.
• If you’re going out, going Christmas shopping, or visiting people – flow before you go. Take a lateral flow test. If it’s positive – don’t go out.
• Meeting outdoors is better than indoors. If you’re meeting indoors make sure it’s well ventilated.
• Space out your socialising – if you’ve got events arranged, please leave at least a day between them.
• And don’t forget about social distancing, wearing a face covering and washing your hands.
The regulations will also be changed to include a requirement to work from home wherever possible.
After Christmas, on 27 December new legal restrictions will come into force, to help protect against the spread of the omicron variant.
The Welsh Government has announced up to £60m will be available to support businesses affected by the new restrictions.
The First Minister added: “This year a smaller Christmas is a safer Christmas. The fewer people we see, the less chance we have of catching or passing on the virus.
“Please enjoy Christmas with your nearest and dearest – and think about meeting up with wider circles of friends when the threat posed by the omicron variant has passed over.
“I also want to thank the many thousands of people who will be working this Christmas to keep us safe – especially all those who have cancelled their plans to work in the vaccination centres across Wales to increase our protection against this awful virus.”
BUSINESSES MUST BE PROTECTED SAYS ANDREW RT DAVIES
Commenting ahead of tomorrow’s latest COVID announcement, Welsh Conservative leader, Andrew RT Davies MS said: “The Omicron variant is spreading extremely fast in the UK – and the doubling rate in some areas is now down to less than two days. In Wales, we are still predominantly dealing with Delta, but it’s widely accepted the new variant will become the dominant strain, particularly in the New Year.
“Personal responsibility has always been crucial during the pandemic and that remains the case. “Serious consideration must be given to public health messaging as I’m sure I speak on behalf of the nation when we say we want to see as normal a Christmas as possible.
“However, there are significant concerns over the potential impact on workforce availability across key sectors including the NHS and social care. It’s imperative the Welsh Government works with the UK Government to ensure we can best protect public services and the supply chain moving forward.
“Some Welsh businesses, particularly in the hospitality sector, are already seeing a significant impact on trade in wake of Omicron, and Labour ministers must use the £500 million of unallocated COVID support sitting in government coffers to help firms and protect jobs.
“It’s clear ministers of all colours across the UK are facing a challenging public health picture in an uncertain period. However, any consideration and implementation of restrictions must be evidence-based and have an impact on tackling the virus, unlike vaccine passports.”
Education
Concern over ‘highest-ever’ school bullying rates
RATES of bullying in Welsh schools have reached record levels, with more than one in three children and young people reporting being bullied, the Senedd heard.
Gareth Davies raised concerns about a 6% increase in bullying between 2021 and 2023, according to a survey of more than 130,000 pupils in 200 secondary schools.
The Conservatives’ shadow mental health minister told the Senedd: “These results are higher than ever previously reported in the survey, which is deeply troubling.”
He said the latest survey showed regression on “just about every metric of pupil wellbeing”, including growing social isolation and a rise in behavioural issues.
Mr Davies, who worked in the NHS in north Wales for more than a decade, pointed to a 2021 legal duty to have regard to the mental health of children and young people.
He said: “The mental health of pupils has declined and reports of bullying in schools have only increased, so the Welsh Government have failed in that duty, unfortunately.”
Plaid Cymru’s Cefin Campbell called for an update to 2019 anti-bullying guidance for school governing bodies following a commitment from the Welsh Government eight months ago.
The shadow education secretary focused on the impact of poverty, warning the high cost of school uniforms can cause stress and lead to bullying.
Mr Campbell, a former lecturer, expressed concerns about penalties, such as detention, for pupils over non-compliance with uniform policies.
Raising a report on “horrific” experiences of racism in Welsh schools, he said one pupil was told a classmate did not want to sit next to them due to the colour of their skin.
“That’s entirely unacceptable in our schools,” said Mr Campbell.
Labour’s Carolyn Thomas warned children’s mental health is at an all-time low, pointing to smartphones and social media as major contributing factors.
She said: “They can be used to bully, manipulate and control, sending young people into an isolated world of despair, not thinking they can get out of it or go to somebody for help.”
The North Wales politician highlighted a petition calling for a ban on phones in schools.
Rhys ab Owen, an independent who represents South Wales Central, stressed that bullying can impact people for decades to come after school.
“But it’s an issue that doesn’t affect learners equally,” he said. “In Cardiff, around a third of learners come from ethnically diverse backgrounds.
“And I was staggered to read a survey from 2020, which said that 61.5% of learners had expressed stereotypes over skin colour, religion and nationality.”
In a statement on November 12 to mark anti-bullying week, Lynne Neagle accepted that bullying continues to be an issue in Welsh schools.
Pledging to prioritise the problem, Wales’ education secretary said new statutory anti-bullying guidance will be published for consultation after Christmas.
Ms Neagle pointed to concerning trends, including 42% of girls scoring high or very high in a questionnaire on psychological problems compared with 27% of boys.
She told the Senedd: “I wouldn’t want to be a teenager growing up today.”
Ms Neagle stated the Welsh Government provided more than £800,000 this year for one of the biggest surveys of children and young people in the UK.
She said: “The link between bullying and mental health is well known. At its most extreme, young people have taken their own lives as a result of being bullied. This is a tragedy for the young life lost, for their family and friends and for whole communities.”
Health
Fundraising events raise over £4,000 for ICU
VICKI COLES and Sophie Moncrieff have raised a fantastic £4,140 for the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Withybush Hospital in memory of Henry Coles, Vicki’s husband.
Vicki and Sophie, with the help of their family and friends, organised a number of charity events, a charity wax, a raffle and charity night at The Bull Inn in Prendergast.
Henry sadly passed away in March 2024 and Vicki wanted to raise money to say thank you for the amazing support he received at the ICU.
Vicki said: “The care Henry received, and the support given to us by the ITU staff, was amazing and we can’t thank them enough.
“I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has helped at this very difficult time. We look forward to doing another fundraiser for Henry’s birthday next year.”
Katie Hancock, Fundraising Officer said: “Thank you to Vicki and your family and friends for raising an amazing amount for the ICU at Withybush, it is a lovely tribute to Henry. We hope you take comfort in knowing the funds will make a big difference to the patients, families, and staff at the ICU at Withybush Hospital.
“The support of our local communities enables us to provide services over and above what the NHS can provide in the three counties of Hywel Dda and we are extremely grateful for every donation we receive.”
For more details about the NHS charity and how you can help support local NHS patients and staff, go to www.hywelddahealthcharities.org.uk
Pictured above: Vicki Coles and Sophie Moncrieff with staff from the unit
Health
Call for overhaul of ‘unsustainable’ GP funding model
SENEDD members added their voices to a chorus of calls for fair funding for GPs after more than 21,000 people across Wales signed a petition.
Carolyn Thomas led a debate on the petition submitted by the British Medical Association (BMA) as part of the professional body’s “Save our Surgeries” campaign.
The Labour politician, who chairs the petitions committee, attended a meeting with GPs and told the Senedd their message was clear: the current funding model is unsustainable.
She said: “Over the last two decades, while the number of face-to-face appointments, digital contacts and phone calls has risen, the complexity of the work has been transformed, expenses have risen, and the cost of premises has leapt up.
“Yet the share of the health budget spent on GP services has shrunk..”
Ms Thomas, who represents North Wales added: “In some areas, recruitment and retention is the main worry but in others it’s the crumbling fabric of buildings. In others, it is the rapidly ageing population or a growing workload that isn’t matched by an equivalent rise in capacity.
“But underlying all of these is money to pay for the services that we all want to see.”
Sam Rowlands, the Conservatives’ shadow health secretary, said 8% of NHS Wales funding goes to GPs which is lower than levels from 2005/06.
Mr Rowlands pointed out that more than 100 surgeries have closed in the past 12 years.
Plaid Cymru’s Heledd Fychan criticised “huge underinvestment” over the past decade, telling the Senedd that Wales remains 500 GPs short of the OECD average.
She said: “There were 372 GP services in Wales at the end of June, which is 14 fewer than when the BMA launched the ‘Save Our Surgeries’ campaign. It is clear, therefore, that these consistent warnings about a shortage of provision … have fallen on deaf ears.”
Ms Fychan, who represents South Wales Central, raised concerns about big companies, often located outside Wales, stepping into the market for GP services.
She said: “In the Aneurin Bevan area, eHarleyStreet is a clear example of this. This continues with the damaging trend of profits being taken out of the health system into private pockets, and also makes the provision vulnerable.”
Her Plaid Cymru colleague Luke Fletcher raised a BMA survey that found nearly four out of five locum GPs cannot find work despite patient waiting times hitting record highs.
He said: “That’s in England but here in Wales the symptoms of the same crisis have been visible for a while, yet the data doesn’t seem to be available….
“Anecdotally, I’ve been told of locums in Wales looking to other fields. Some are considering jobs in retail and driving taxis. At a time when we’re crying out for GPs and we all accept that there’s a shortage of GPs – this situation is madness.”
Warning services are in chaos, the Conservatives’ Laura Anne Jones raised concerns about a survey showing 37% of Welsh GPs may leave the profession within five years.
Julie Morgan said she has heard the same story from surgeries in her constituency: “They’re struggling to maintain safe levels of service and worried about being able to continue.”
The former minister told the Senedd that Cardiff North is in the bottom 1% of funded practices in the UK due to the “outdated” Carr-Hill formula used to calculate funding.
Jenny Rathbone, a fellow Labour backbencher, highlighted the Deep End Cymru project, which aims to support 100 practices in the most deprived areas.
Jane Dodds, the Liberal Democrats’ leader in Wales, raised concerns about staff welfare and reiterated calls for a premium to recognise the significant challenges for GPs in rural areas.
Responding to the debate on November 6, Jeremy Miles said surgeries in Wales see an astonishing number of patients with around 1.5 million every month.
Wales’ health secretary stressed: “I want to reassure GPs that we have heard the messages about the huge demands and the pressure on staff welfare.”
Mr Miles said ministers have chosen to commit £1bn over this Senedd term to clear the backlog and reduce waiting times following the pandemic.
He told the Senedd: “By necessity, this means that a larger proportion of funding has gone to secondary care. Redressing this imbalance will be a priority for future funding decisions.
“And we are committed to the principle of providing more care closer to home.”
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