Janet Finch-Saunders
Deputy Minister, as a result of much campaigning on my part and that of many others locally, we now have a super minor injuries unit in Llandudno General Hospital with excellent and well-qualified staff. This unit, of course, provides a facility for many of those often deemed as the ‘anything and everything’ cases to be treated appropriately and more locally, thereby reducing the pressures on, say, Glan Clwyd. But the awareness of this unit is still very low.
Additionally, I understand that the current flu strain in circulation is H1N1, which is a very, very serious strain of flu and it actually targets younger adults and the respiratory systems of those and, of course, the old, but yet the take-up of the flu vaccine this year is particularly low. Both of these are incidents and examples of where there are poor communication levels coming from the board but also from you as Deputy Minister, who is charged with the intervention of the Betsi board during special measures. Deputy Minister, how do you intend to improve the communication levels about the minor injuries unit at Llandudno and, more importantly, about the absolute need for the take-up of the flu vaccine, given the very virulent strain that is now in circulation?
Vaughan Gething
I welcome Janet Finch-Saunders’s support for the minor injuries unit at Llandudno. I’m not aware that she had any influence on the decision to invest in it. I was very pleased to visit staff at the unit—[Interruption.] I’m being perfectly honest. I was very pleased to visit staff to see the work they undertake, but also to see the very high level of awareness that is developing amongst the local population and indeed local practitioners. So, I think it’s a service we’ve been right to invest in. I’m very proud of what they’re doing.
On the point you make about the flu vaccine, we know that, every single year, we make a significant effort to make people aware of the need and the desirability of undertaking the flu vaccine. Every year, Ministers get the opportunity to embarrass themselves, as I did this year, in an embarrassing photo op as part of the flu vaccine campaign. It’s for older people and it’s for people who are at risk, including me. I am in the at-risk population because of my previous kidney disease. And so we want to encourage more and more people to undertake the vaccine. Part of our challenge though is that many people are aware of the vaccine, that it’s available, that they’re in an at-risk category, but they opt not to take it. That includes healthcare professional staff and too many older people as well. So, there’s an ongoing challenge in communication, but I don’t think it’s at all helpful to try and suggest that this is the fault of one individual, whether in Government or elsewhere. There is a broader challenge here and we need more than one form of communication and more people urging people to undertake the sensible thing and to take the flu vaccine when it is offered and available.