 Rhaodda, Llynedd Morgant dwi gwneud o giechyd a gwasanaethau cymdeithasol yn Llywodraeth Cymru. Diolch i chi am ymuno gyda ni i'n weith eto. Thank you for joining us again. Today, I want to highlight the services and support available to anyone in Wales who is suffering from the longer-term effects of COVID-19, what's known as long COVID. Long COVID affects people really differently. The symptoms can vary from person to person and they can range in severity. Fatigue is the most common symptom reported, followed by a loss of smell, shortness of breath and difficulty concentrating. Overall, the public health situation in Wales is stabilising and we've been able to move back to alert level zero. The First Minister will be here on Friday with a further update. But there are thousands of people who are still suffering from the longer-term effects of this virus. We also don't know what impact the recent Omicron wave, which caused a huge surge in infections across Wales, will have on the number of people with long COVID. Diolch i chi am eu bawb sydd ar COVID-19 yw bod nad ydy ni wedi anhofi amdano chi. I want everyone with long COVID to know that we haven't forgotten you. Last year, I announced a £5 million investment in services for people recovering from long COVID. This is the ADVERIAD programme. Every health board is committed to ensuring everyone who is struggling with the long-term effects of COVID-19 can receive support and care, which is tailored to their needs and symptoms as close to home as possible. The funding has provided additional staff time, training, therapeutic and technical equipment, and supports the development of digital resources. Mae hyn yn golygu gael rwy'n sydd ar COVID-19 ymweld a'u meddig teulu, cael ei asesi a chael trynedd gan y persón mwyaf priodol ar gyfer ei symtome. Bydd yn nhw'n cael y cyngor, yr adryniad, yr archwiliad, ar gyfal arbenigol cywyr sy'n adas ew hanghenion penod onhwr. Nid un gwasanaeth sydd rin beth i bawb ew hun. This means that someone with long COVID can visit their GP, be assessed, and receive treatment from the most appropriate person for their symptoms. They'll be provided with the right advice, treatment, investigation and specialist care to suit their own particular needs. They won't get a one-size-fits-all service. The service includes self-help programmes, exercises to help with breathing and anxiety, fatigue management techniques and rehabilitation, including psychology, occupational therapy and physiotherapy. If people have symptoms that require further investigation, a direct referral to secondary consultants and clinical teams can be made by GPs. This method ensures that most people can access services on their doorstep and they won't need to travel to a clinic or wait for a hospital appointment. Last week I had the privilege of meeting people and healthcare professionals at the Long COVID service in Swansea Bay University Health Board. They told me about their own personal experiences, but they also told me that our model is working and that is reinforced by the external assessment of the service. This doesn't mean that we have all of the answers or that there isn't more to learn. Wales is taking part in UK-wide Long COVID research studies, which will help to increase our knowledge of both diagnosis and treatment of the condition. Closer to home, I've set up the COVID evidence centre, which is part of Health and Care Research Wales. It will soon begin a Long COVID work programme to explore our specific needs. When I launched the ADVERIAD programme, I said we would regularly review it to make sure it was delivering for people in Wales. The first six-month review tells us that just over 2,400 people have been diagnosed with Long COVID by their GP or healthcare professional. Of these, 2,226 have used our Long COVID rehabilitation services in the last year. Only 3.5% were referred to secondary care services. The vast majority were treated by primary care professionals such as GPs, psychologists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists. These figures are much lower than the number of people who have self-reported that they are experiencing some Long COVID symptoms. This is likely to be due to the huge range of symptoms this condition can have and may reflect whether people feel able to self-manage their illness without support from a clinician. Our COVID recovery app helps people to manage their own symptoms and the app has been downloaded more than 10,000 times. However, we know that some people, particularly those who develop COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic, may have struggled to access the support that they needed. We know there are things that we can and we will do better. Mae'n gwasanaethau yn eile'r ben hyn a dwi am i sicrhau pobl sydd ar symtomau parhais neu sy'n cael amser anodd ar hyn o bryd yn bod yn gweithio'n galed yw helpu. Os ydych chi'n dal i ddioddau symtomau COVID-19 a bod y rhaen yn effeithio ar ansawdd eich bywyd cysylltu'ch ach meddig teulu. Mae'n gwasanaethau ar gael i'ch helpu'n hob rhan o Gymru. Mae'r gwasanaethau ar ddiwedd, ac os ydych chi'n gweithio'r sydd i'r cymdeithasio o'r cymdeithasio o'r tyfnodol o'i bydd ymgylcheddau, mae'n siarad o'r helpu. Yn ymgylchedd yma, mae'n fwylo'r syfath o'r sydd COVID-19 a fydd yn effechtyn i chi'r cyfle o'r ffyrdd. Fy hoffi'n ddych chi i'w GPs. Mae'r gwasanaethau yn dod i'w helpu arall o'r gael. Ie, mae'n meddwl ei gallwch arweinwyr hynny, mae'n meddwl yr ydychydigol yn f易 opole i gynhyrchu cwyd i gynghorddololion. Mae'r gynghorddus hwn yn ei dweud gynnwyd-gweithio ag unig gyfnodol cyfnodolol yn fwyaf'r gyrwydd hynny. Mae'r gynghorddolion ei gyddion yn y dweud arweinwyr hwn yn fawr. Mae'r Gymuned yn ystod yn cyŵr, oedd yn gyfnodol o gyrwydd, ac yn ystod sicrhau yn ddweud â'ch sgwrs safbwydd yn y bydd. Yn ymwylwyr, ydy'r unig ffordd o bryd gyweb o bobl yn oesol gynnig i'r gymuned ddyddol gyda ffodol o'u cyfodol yn ei weld, a'r cyfodol yn ei ddydw i'r bwrddfa ar y cerdd yma mewn i wneud. Mae gennych i safbwynt ymdill i'r cyfrifiwyr, ac yn adaelu i'r gyfrifiwyr yn eu gweld. Rydym yn ei ffrifiwyr eu meddwl gyda'r cyfodaeth o'i gondol o'r trio cyngondol, cards, lleol o gyrfaenol, ac roedd ymdraethol. This group will also be looking at how we treat children with long Covid. Un i dal i ddysgu am Covid-19 a bydd y grwp arbenigol ar adolyged adferiad sy'n cynnwys adborth a ffrofiad a pobl yn ein helpu ni i wel ar gwasanaeth ddim helach. Trwy barhau i ffonitr o'r cymor sydd i angen ac adasu yn unol â hynny, gallwn sicrhau bod gosanaethau ar gael i bawb sydd angen cymor. We're still learning about long Covid and the expert group on the adferiad review, which includes people's feedback and experiences will help to improve services further. By continuing to monitor the support required and adapt accordingly, we can ensure that services are available to all those who need help and support. Diolch yn fawr iawn i chi gyd, ac rwy'n rhaid i'ch gweithio cwestiynau ar gyfer journalists. As usual, all questions will be broadcast on our social media. Diolch yn fawr. Our first question is from Dias Main, ITV Wales. Thanks, Minister. We know that tens of thousands of people in Wales have now self-reported symptoms of long Covid. As you say, the numbers accessing services are much lower. Are you confident that people aren't falling through the gaps and facing this alone? I think the message that we're trying to give very clearly today is that since July, we have these new approaches that have been developed in every health board in Wales so that you can get that support locally. Clearly, at the beginning of the pandemic, we were still learning. We didn't quite know what these symptoms were. We didn't know how to treat them. Now we are learning with the patients, and it is a learning experience, and we're confident now that those facilities are in place. And certainly the reports that I heard from those people who have experienced the support that was given, particularly in that Swansea area, the feedback was very, very positive. And I would suggest that anybody who does feel like they have quality of life issues as a result of Covid-19 should perhaps go and refer themselves to their GP, who will be able to advise them on that multidisciplinary approach that we are providing locally. Does Welsh Government have any plans to invest further into research around long Covid medical research so that we can better understand the symptoms and the long-term effects? Well, we're already participating in many research projects. We've already invested millions of pounds in making sure that we are part not just of processes here in Wales, but also across the UK. And I know there are many people who have symptoms who have engaged with that research experience. It's early days, and as I say, we still don't know to what extent Omicron will produce long Covid symptoms in people. So all of this is about us learning as we go along, and we're making sure that that funding is available because we don't know the long-term effects of long Covid yet. Caitlin Parr. Thank you, Minister. I don't have a furlough scheme in Wales anymore, as the majority of people aren't out of work for the length of time that they were in the first lockdown, for example. But will there be any support for employees and their employers when it comes to people needing longer periods of time off now with long Covid? Well, we're very pleased to say that, in particular, the health boards have been working with the trade unions to make sure that there is an approach because many people have, of course, contracted Covid in our health and care services. So there's been a comprehensive approach to that. Generally, the kind of broader employment issues are issues that the UK government lead on, and so we do need to be working with them in terms of making sure that we're clear about what support is available for employee employees in the longer term. Thank you. So, do you have any initial advice at this time before the further research that you were speaking about earlier is conducted for parents or teachers on how to care for young children with long Covid potentially, or maybe anything that they should be keeping an eye out for when children with long Covid are in their care? Well, thankfully, we haven't seen too many examples of long Covid in children. Obviously, when they do show themselves, then that's devastating both for the children and the parents. We're making sure that the support is in place. Again, this is very much a learning process, and they are being referred to centres which have a specialism and have a better understanding of how children may be responding. So, I guess fatigue is an obvious example of what people should be looking out for in children, but there are many other symptoms that I think people should be aware of. Felicity Evans. Minister, thank you. I'd be grateful for answers in both languages as well, please. On the ADVERYAD programme, you referred to the funding that you announced last year, but what about future funding? Can you guarantee that there will be more to come to keep this project going? Well, thanks very much. It's clear that this has been a highly successful programme from the feedback that we've had and the very comprehensive evaluation that we've made of the programme. It would be, I think, remiss of us to take away this programme when it was so highly successful and when clearly there is still a very much of demand for it. I've asked my officials to give me some further advice on continuing this programme, but I have no intention of stopping this programme anytime soon. So, it's clear that the ADVERYAD programme has been a very successful programme. It's not about the people, it's about the health of the programme. So, I think it's very important that we know about this programme. I think it's important that the people continue to support this programme, and I think it's important that we make sure that the programme is safe and secure. Thank you. And could I get your reaction to what happened to Sir Keir Starmer and the colleague outside Westminster yesterday with the mob there? The speaker in the House of Commons within the last hour has condemned what he's described as intimidating and threatening behaviour. Does this highlight the safety issues surrounding politicians at the moment and what do you make of it? Well, I think those scenes were disgraceful outside of Westminster. I think there is a responsibility on us all as politicians to behave responsibly, to understand that our words have impact and that we've got to be very, very careful in terms of inciting people. It's clear that intimidation is not acceptable. People are elected to represent the public. This is not about individuals. It's about people representing the public. We are here representing you. You are the people who elect us. Democracy just thrives and really only works when it is treated with respect and dignity. And I think it is important that people understand that politicians are under huge pressure constantly. And I do hope that people will understand that kind of intimidation doesn't help politicians to do their work. Yn gymaeg? Please, thank you. Mae'n glir bod y goleg feith wel o'n i'i tyfas i sian Stephhan yn anerbyniol. Mae'n bwysig bod gledyddion yn diall bod ei geiriau nhw yn gallu cael effedd ar y ffordd ma pobl yn ymdwyng. Mae'r ffordd ma democratiaeth yn gweithio yn ddigbynol ar y ffaith bod na barch teagat gledyddion. Mae'n bwysig hefyd i diall bod gledyddion dim ond yma i gynychol i'r pobl. Mae'n bwysig i bod ni yn gweld mwy o barch teagat gledyddion sydd yma ar ran y pobl yn un cynwchio li. Mark Smith. Thank you very much indeed Health Minister. Face coverings are no longer legally required by law in any setting in England except public transport in London specifically. Given the latest review period is almost upon us, do you envisage Wales removing the legal requirement for masks to be worn, or do you believe there is still an important tool in our fight against the virus? Thanks very much. I think what's important is that people understand that face coverings have made a major contribution, certainly to people being aware that COVID is very much still alive in our communities. The Cabinet will be making decisions this week and the First Minister will be responding to the 21 day review determining what we'll be doing, not just on face coverings but also on COVID passes, the risk assessment, the need to self-isolate. All of these things will be covered in the review. But it is clear that face coverings I think make people understand that COVID is still very much alive and we need to of course make sure that we base our decisions on evidence but I would like to make it clear that the COVID is very much still with us in our communities. Thank you very much indeed. And secondly, despite the success of the COVID vaccine rollout, there do remain many thousands of people who have yet to have the booster jab, including a quarter of 50 to 54 year olds, a third of 40 to 49 year olds and half of 30 to 39 year olds. People are reporting to us that vaccination centres are also in some cases dead or far quieter than they once were. Do you believe vaccine apathy is setting in perhaps among the Welsh population and do you believe any further investment is needed by the Welsh Government to further encourage people to have the booster? Well, I don't think it's all bad. I think we have a situation where 84% of healthcare staff have received their boosters, 89% of over 70s and of course here we're talking about people who are most vulnerable, 90% of our care home residents have received the booster. I think what was heartening is that even in January what we saw is 20,000 people came forward for their first dose and so whilst you can point at the negatives, I can point at the positives, 65,000 people came forward for their second dose so that gives an added protection. Clearly we are concerned though that not as many people as we would have liked have come forward for their boosters. That age range that you particularly point out, the 50% amongst 30 to 39 year olds, I think we've got a bear in mind that there were a lot of people who suffered with Covid during the period when that offer was being made and they were unable to take up that offer of a booster for 28 days. So, hopefully they will take up the opportunity and come forward for that booster. It is absolutely essential to give that additional protection to support people so that if they catch Covid and let's face it, there's a real possibility that people will catch Covid at the moment that they are far, far less likely to be hospitalised if they've had that booster support. Harry Hansen. Thank you. Good afternoon Minister. I wanted to ask you a bit about your recent visit to Bayfield Hospital in Swansea to look at their long Covid department as you mentioned before. What positive outcomes came from that visit and how will you now use those outcomes to tackle long Covid as a government? Thanks very much. What was very heartening is of course I've been looking at the data and the response in terms of the evaluation of the programme that has only been going for six months. It was important not just to look at the data which was very heartening. 85% of people who took part in the programme said that they would certainly be happy to recommend it to other people but actually hearing first hand from people about their experiences and the difference that it had made in their lives. A lot of these people had contracted Covid in December 2020 but they hadn't been given that additional support until this programme came online and that was the thing that was transformational for them and the understanding that it was tailor made to them to suit whatever their particular personal needs were. There were even a husband and wife who'd suffered Covid but suffered in very different ways and what was good is that every single programme responded to that individual need. Thank you for that and I suppose on a different point. You've spoken about the health side of long Covid but how about the employment side and what are the concerns around people being unable to return to work due to long Covid? Well we're very focused on this and certainly the health boards are very aware of the need to put that occupational therapy support in place to help people to return to work but not to push them into work if they're not ready for it. I know that those discussions have been going on between health boards and trade unions but making sure that we put in place all of that support but it will go beyond people who work in health and care we must make sure that people are empathetic and understand the fact that actually people may genuinely have been affected by long Covid. The key message that came from those people who I met last week was that actually it was great just to get people to listen to them to be taken seriously and I think it is important that that message is heard very loudly and clearly by people across Wales that the Welsh Government is taking your long Covid very seriously. Diolch yn fawr iawn i chi.