wales « Veronica German AM – Assembly Member for South Wales East

Welsh Liberal Democrats to bring the Tour de France Yellow Jersey to Wales

By Veronica German AM, on February 15th, 2011

Welsh Liberal Democrats have announced proposals to bid for the Tour de France to come to Wales. The manifesto commitment to seek to host a stage of the famous race will feature in the Welsh Liberal Democrat manifesto for the Assembly Elections in May.

Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member, Veronica German, a keen cyclist, said:

“Wales is ideally placed to host a stage of the Tour de France. From Snowdonia to the Brecon Beacons, Wales could provide a spectacular and challenging stage for the world’s top athletes.

“The likes of Nicole Cooke and Geraint Thomas have shown that the Welsh are no slouches in the saddle. The Welsh Government needs to change up a gear and bring the Tour to Wales.”

“After the success of the Ryder Cup, the Tour de France will give Wales another opportunity to shine on the world stage. It is watched by millions across Europe and estimates suggest the Welsh economy could benefit by up to £115 million.

“The Mayor of London successfully brought the Tour to England in 2007. With the right leadership and vision, Wales could do likewise.”

Notes:
1. Tour de France facts:
TV viewers: the Tour de France TV coverage draws 4 million viewers during the three weeks of the stages, according to Amaury Sport Organization. For the climactic finale in Paris, 5.3 million people tune in.
TV coverage: the Tour de France televises 129 hours of race footage, and the average French person watched 5.5 hours of the 2004 race.

2. Estimates on the economic boost of the Tour de France are based on figures from the 2007 stage in London http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/160684/uk-tourism-boost-from-2007-tour-de-france.

Much needs to be done to deliver the mental health services that Wales needs

By Veronica German AM, on February 15th, 2011

We all want to be physically healthy but, from time to time, we will experience ill health – whether it’s a simple cold or something more serious.

And, just like our physical health, we will, from time to time, experience mental ill health too.

Statistics show one in four people will develop some kind of mental health condition at some point in their life. This means that we will all be touched by mental ill health, either ourselves or our family.

In Wales we have made good progress in improving mental health services recently with the passing of the mental health Measure.

But as encouraging as this is, there’s still much to be done. Legislation doesn’t fix everything and there are a multitude of issues we need to tackle in order to deliver the mental health services Wales needs.

A healthier, more productive and fairer society is one in which we recognise difference, promote mental health and wellbeing and challenge health inequalities.

We need mental health services in Wales, which prevent ill health, intervene early when it occurs and improve the quality of life for people with mental health problems and their families.

A mental health strategy should focus on measurable outcomes based on people’s experience of the services they receive. A service should be considered successful based on its quality, rather than on the basis of a top-down target, which measures success on how many people can be pushed through the system.

Improved mental health and wellbeing is associated with a range of better outcomes. These include improved physical health and life expectancy, better educational achievement, increased skills and reduced health risk behaviours.

By focusing on outcomes rather than process we will not only deliver better mental health services but services that have a cumulative positive impact on other health areas.

The UK Government has just released the report No Health Without Mental Health, which sets out the English strategy for mental health services.

Maybe a similar report in Wales would be useful to set out exactly how we should deliver mental health services – Wales has different needs and issues which need to be addressed.

For example, we still lack an anti-stigma campaign. The English and Scottish campaigns have been hugely successful at raising the profile of mental health problems and tackling the unfair stigma that surrounds them. I stand firm in my belief that Wales could benefit from such a campaign.

We hear every day about the financial difficulties the country is facing but this needn’t be a hindrance. A small, focused campaign aimed primarily at employers, could do much to help. It would lay responsibility on employers to ensure the work place is a stigma-free environment by providing information and education on mental health disorders.

Ultimately, I would like to see a mental health strategy which delivers a robust, holistic service under strong leadership, in the form of an experienced and committed individual. I feel mental health is significant enough to warrant a dedicated government representative.

Crucially, Wales needs a timely and effective service aimed not only at those who suffer from mental health disorders but also their families.

Often families don’t understand these conditions or they don’t know how to deal with a loved one who has a mental health disorder. It is also often the case that when caring for someone with mental health problems, they have nowhere to turn themselves or push their own mental health to the side.

We should be looking to ensure that no matter how you are affected by mental ill health you have somewhere to go for support.

Written for the Western Mail.

Gap in life expectancy between Wales and England continues to widen

By Veronica German AM, on November 25th, 2010

Veronica German, Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Minister, has spoken of her disappointed that that the difference in life expectancy between people in Wales and England has continued to widen.

New figures released today on the Welsh Assembly Government website show that in 1991-93 a male in Wales could expect to live 0.1 years less than his UK counterpart, but by 2007-9 this figure is now 0.7 years. For Females that gap has increased from 0.1 to 0.5 years.

The new statistics have also illustrated that the gap has widened in Wales between the local authorities with the highest and lowest life expectancies.

The local authorities with the lowest life expectancies were generally situated in the South Wales valleys, with Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent having the lowest of all. This pattern has not changed substantially in the last decade as both areas also had the lowest life expectancy in Wales 1991.

The difference in life expectancy across Wales has been increasing. The gap between the highest and lowest at local authority level is 5.8 years for males and 5.0 years for females. This is higher than in 1991-93, when for males there was a 3.6 year difference and for females a 2.9 year difference.

Ms German, South Wales East AM, commented:

“The fact is that we are yet again lagging behind England. The difference between Wales and the UK has actually widened. Life expectancy is one of the most common ways of measuring the health and well being of a population, therefore the fact that Wales is still behind England is deeply troubling.”

Ms German continued:

“There is a clear correlation in these statistics between those areas that are poorer and those with lower life expectancy. It should not be the case in this day and age that those who are richer live longer. It is a disgrace that areas that had the lowest life expectancy in 1991 and still do today. It is also a disgrace that the gap has in fact widened. What is being done about this?

“The Welsh Assembly Government must look at how they plan to improve the health of the poorest in Wales so as to improve life expectancy. They must bring forward a strategy for helping to decrease this gap that exists in different areas.

“After 13 years of a Labour administration in both countries, the divide between the rich and poor is greater than any time since the second World War. These statistics are yet further evidence illustrating how badly the Labour party has let Wales down over these years.”

Notes

Statistics can be found here:

http://wales.gov.uk/docs/statistics/2010/101124sb942010en.pdf

Veronica German AM opts for life saving organ donation law

By Veronica German AM, on November 18th, 2010

Veronica German, Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Health and Wellbeing, has welcomed the Health Minister’s statement on the Organ and Tissue Donation Legislative Competence Order.

The option would mean Welsh residents are presumed organ donors unless they or their relatives object.

Ms German AM commented:

“The Welsh Liberal Democrats have been campaigning on this issue for many years so I welcome news that progress is being made. This is an opportunity for Wales to lead the way in the UK ensuring that people who are on waiting lists for organs do not die unnecessarily. Sadly, as figures have shown, this currently is happening all too often.

“Whilst we very much support the opt-out system, which is used successfully in numerous countries in Europe, it is incredibly important that the people of Wales know exactly what the system entails as it is something that affects everybody in Wales. Every person’s views and wishes must be respected.”

Veronica German AM welcomes Mental Health Measure

By Veronica German AM, on November 8th, 2010

Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Health and Wellbeing, Veronica German AM is today welcoming the final approval from the Welsh Assembly Government for the Proposed Mental Health (Wales) Measure.

Ms German is part of the legislation committee which is responsible for considering the measure.

Ms German commented: “I hope that this measure will help make a difference to the lives of the hundreds of thousands of people across Wales who have been affected, in some way, by mental ill health.

“This new legislation will mean that Local Health Boards and Local Authorities are held to account even further when it comes to the assessment and treatment of any mental disorder.

“I look forward to working closely with the Government to ensure that this measure is implemented and adhered to the fullest extent possible.”

Notes

The proposed Mental Health (Wales) Measure aims to:

• Provide mental health services at an earlier stage for individuals who are experiencing mental health problems to reduce the risk of further decline in mental health;
• Make provision for care and treatment plans for those in secondary mental health care and ensure those previously discharged from secondary mental health services have access to those services when they believe their mental health may be deteriorating;
• Extend mental health advocacy provision beyond that which is currently required.

Wales needs a cancer plan

By Veronica German AM, on October 25th, 2010

Veronica German, the Liberal Democrats’ health spokeswoman, explains why Wales needs a comprehensive cancer strategy.

Article written for the Western Mail.

CANCER is a disease that affects everyone.

With more than one in three people likely to develop cancer at some point in their lives we all likely to be touched by it.

It is essential we have a cancer strategy in Wales able to cope with this life-altering disease. A recent report, published by Cancer Research UK, said we in Wales aren’t getting the cancer service we need.

The report analysed cancer strategies across the UK between 2006 and 2010. It found that Wales was seriously lacking compared to England, stating: “A more comprehensive plan should be developed to ensure consistent delivery, implementation and integration across Wales.”

When Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams asked First Minister Carwyn Jones if he planned to follow this advice, he failed to provide a satisfactory answer.

We are again falling behind England because of inaction by the Assembly Government. One example of this is in the provision of intensity modulated radiotherapy This allows tumours to be treated very accurately, which is particularly important in the pelvic area and in head and neck cancers where there are a number of organs and structures that could be easily damaged.

In England this treatment has been available for five years and 42% of cancer patients are receiving it. But in Wales only two patients a month with head, neck and prostate cancer are receiving this form of radiotherapy.

In England, the UK government has just committed £60m over four years to introduce new state-of-the-art screening programme for bowel cancer, different to the test currently available. Wales has a higher incidence of bowel cancer than England – in fact we have higher levels of male cancers than any other part of the UK and our survival rates in Wales are well below the European average.

We have heard nothing from the Labour-Plaid Government about establishing a similarly new bowel cancer screening programme here.

The Cancer Research UK report is proof that we need to establish a fully-inclusive, patient-centred, contemporary cancer strategy.

I would like to see a cancer strategy that is truly holistic and an all-encompassing service that is focused on the patient and their family from diagnosis, treatment through to aftercare and remission.

We need a service that doesn’t stop when the treatment stops. People are at their most vulnerable – both physically and mentally – when they are suffering from an illness such as cancer; it simply isn’t good enough to treat the body without treating the mind.

We need a service that addresses a patient’s psychological and emotional needs as well.

A Welsh cancer strategy must also offer practical advice on issues that often get ignored, such as financial issues.

Furthermore it needs to provide services for families – such as counselling and advice – to help them cope when a loved one is diagnosed with cancer.

Macmillan Cancer Support already offers a holistic service. In August the charity launched a ground-breaking counselling service for people whose relationships have been affected by a cancer diagnosis.

It is a first in Wales, and only the second of its kind in the UK, and offers free help to individuals, couples and families who have been affected by a cancer diagnosis.

I would love to see a cancer strategy that, like Macmillan, offers a holistic service.

But the sad reality is that before we can even begin to think of what we want, we have to think about what we need.

First and foremost we need a strategy that delivers the best treatments possible for the people of Wales.

The Labour-Plaid Assembly Government needs to act now and give us a cancer strategy that at least puts us on an even footing with those in England.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/welsh-politics/welsh-politics-news/2010/10/25/veronica-german-wales-needs-a-cancer-plan-91466-27535254/

Veronica German AM Welcomes NICE draft guidance on Alzheimer’s drugs

By Veronica German AM, on October 7th, 2010

Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Health and Wellbeing Veronica German AM has today welcomed the decision by NICE to extend guidance on Alzheimer’s disease medicines which could benefit thousands of people in Wales.

The draft guidance, announced by NICE today, extends recommendations for use of three drugs which will benefit mild and moderate forms of the disease.

Commenting, Veronica German said: “I welcome NICE’s decision which could stand to benefit thousands of people in Wales who suffer from this life altering condition.

“It is vital that this draft decision becomes reality and people with Alzheimer’s disease across Wales are able to get access to these treatments”.