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Written Assembly Questions tabled on 3 October 2017 for answer on 10 October 2017

R - Signifies the Member has declared an interest.
W - Signifies that the question was tabled in Welsh.

(Self-identifying question no. shown in brackets)

Written Questions must be tabled at least five working days before they are to be answered. In practice, Ministers aim to answer within seven/eight days but are not bound to do so. Answers are published in the language in which they are provided, with a translation into English of responses provided in Welsh.

To ask the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure

Russell George (Montgomeryshire): Will the Cabinet Secretary confirm when the repairs to the railway bridge at Commins Coch on the A470 will be carried out? (WAQ74313)

Answer received on 10 October 2017

The Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure (Ken Skates): It is expected that repair works to Commins Coch Bridge will commence in early November and continue into January. Much of the work will be undertaken during the night and at weekends.

The delays have been due to finding a suitable window of availability that Network Rail can accommodate.
 
Steffan Lewis (South Wales East): Are local authorities compelled to wait for an incident of personal injury before implementing traffic-calming measures on roads? (WAQ74314)

Answer received on 10 October 2017

Ken Skates: No. The Road Traffic Act 1988 requires local authorities to prepare and carry out programmes of measures designed to promote road safety. However, where there are accidents involving the use of vehicles on their network, local authorities must carry out studies and, in light of those studies, take such measures as appear to the authority to be appropriate to prevent such accidents.
 

To ask the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport

Angela Burns (Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire): How many members of staff have received sepsis bundle training in each of Wales's hospitals, since the launch of the 1000 Lives campaign? (WAQ74315)
Angela Burns (Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire): How many incidences of sepsis have been recorded in each of Wales's hospitals in the last three years? (WAQ74316)
Angela Burns (Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire): How much has the Welsh Government provided each of Wales's health boards for sepsis prevention in each of the last three financial years? (WAQ74317)

Answer received on 10 October 2017

The Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport (Vaughan Gething): Information regarding the number of staff who have received sepsis bundle training is not held centrally.  All staff now have access to the standard online training programme developed through the 1000 Lives Improvement Programme Rapid Response for Acute Illness Learning Set (RRAILS).  RRAILS online is a modular e-learning tool developed by Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board in collaboration with the RRAILS group.
 
The number of diagnoses of sepsis[1] recorded in Wales's hospitals in the last three years are shown in the attached table.
 
We do not hold information on the amount spent from the Welsh Government annual budget allocation by health boards and trusts on sepsis prevention.  Prevention of sepsis is the core responsibility of all health boards and trusts.

[1] Based on any Mention of Sepsis Diagnosis (ICD10 codes A40, A41)

Number of sepsis recorded in Wales's hospitals in the last three years

2014/15

 
2015/16

 
2016/17

 
Suzy Davies (South Wales West): Will the Cabinet Secretary provide an update on progress to improve the survival rates of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests? (WAQ74318)

Answer received on 11 October 2017

Vaughan Gething: A sub-group of the Heart Conditions Implementation Group has been established to oversee the implementation of the Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest Plan. A stakeholder workshop, including third sector, is taking place on 13 December to discuss how we can work collaboratively to improve early access to cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation. Work is continuing to implement agreed clinical consensus pathways on a regional basis to improve immediate care following a cardiac arrest. In addition, work is ongoing to progress the establishment of an out of hospital cardiac registry for Wales and has also commenced on developing a communications plan.
 
Suzy Davies (South Wales West): How many children have received life-saving skills training each year for the last 3 years, and what financial support has the Welsh Government provided in each of these years to support the rollout of these skills? (WAQ74319)

Answer received on 11 October 2017

Vaughan Gething: As lifesaving skills can be taught in a variety of community and educational settings, we are unable to provide a breakdown of the number of children who have been trained. The Welsh Government has provided no direct funding.
Lifesaving skills are an important part of education in Wales and I am pleased that over 99% of maintained schools are participating in the Welsh Network of Healthy School Schemes. Safety is one of the scheme’s 7 topics and requires curriculum schemes of work to cover first aid.
The Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust joined the wider UK ‘Restart a Heart’ campaign on 18 October 2016, in which 43 secondary schools and 7,216 secondary school children were taught lifesaving skills. Additionally, over 200 primary schools, equating to 9,500 children, taught the same skills throughout October as part of the ‘Shoctober’ campaign.
A total of 66 schools across Wales have signed up for this year’s ‘Restart a Heart’ event, which is being delivered in conjunction with the Resuscitation Council UK and the British Heart Foundation.
 
Suzy Davies (South Wales West): What evaluation has the Cabinet Secretary made of the impact of the 'Be a Defib Hero' campaign? (WAQ74320)

Answer received on 11 October 2017

Vaughan Gething: Since I launched the ‘Be a Defib Hero’ campaign in February 2015, 396 additional defibrillators have been logged and mapped onto the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust dispatch system. Currently, there are 3,384 defibrillators in total on the system, allowing call handlers to direct callers to their nearest one in the event of a cardiac arrest.
There has been a significant increase in the number of defibrillators being made known to the Ambulance Service in the last 18 months. This is primarily due to a range of campaigns, including; ‘Defibuary’, ‘Restart a Heart’ and ‘Shoctober’. Furthermore ambulance staff and volunteers have been working with their local communities on defibrillator acquisition, placement and cardio-pulmonary resuscitation training. 
 
Suzy Davies (South Wales West): Will the Cabinet Secretary provide details on how the annual £8 million grant for skills and training in the social care sector has been utilised by each of the local authorities, and how many members of staff have benefitted from this training? (WAQ74321)

Answer received on 10 October 2017

The Minister for Social Services and Public Health (Rebecca Evans): The Social Care Workforce Development Programme (SCWDP) is a grant given by the Welsh Government to further aid and implement training for the Social Care Workforce across Wales. It is match funded by the local authorities, who prepare and run the various training events.
The financial returns for 2015-16 show that for every £1 of Welsh Government programme supported expenditure, local authorities committed on average a further £0.44 of their own resources. This funding facilitated 105,996 attendances at training events resulting in 3,622 qualifications and a further 4,067 supported qualifications across the whole social care sector. Supported qualifications are qualifications started during the year but which have not yet been completed.
Staff from the local government, independent and voluntary sectors attended these training events, as well as foster carers, service users, families and child minders.
The financial returns for 2016-17 are currently being submitted and will then be analysed. From 2017-2018 onwards the SCWDP grant has been transferred to Social Care Wales to oversee.