Plaid hits out over gowns disparity
PLAID Cymru has criticised First Minister Mark Drakeford and Health Minister Vaughan Gething for having conflicting accounts of PPE stocks.
At a press conference on March 28, Mr Gething was asked: “Can you tell us what the Welsh Government had in terms of gowns, visors, swabs and body bags in its pandemic stockpiles when Covid-19 reached the UK?”
Mr Gething replied that “all of those items were available in our pandemic stock”.
However, when questioned on the supply of gowns by Plaid leader Adam Price, the First Minister wrote in a letter: “In relation to the amount of stock held on a number of dates, the stock was unused between June 2016 and February 2020, therefore the amount of stock held for the following items remained the same and was as follows: Eye protectors – 1.488m frames, 1.658m lenses. Facemasks – 5.7m. Gloves – 4.8m. Gowns were not included in the pandemic stockpile.”
This apparent contradictory information regarding the amount of gowns in the pandemic stockpile by Mr Gething and Mr Drakeford was questioned by Mr Price during Plenary in the Welsh Parliament on Wednesday.
The First Minister replied: “The Health Minister provided that answer, I’m sure he was drawing on the best information he had at the time. I do not have in front of me, nor could I reasonably be expected to have in front of me, the details of every item that was in a store on a particular day.”
On the discrepancy Mr Price said: “At the very least the Minister’s answer in the press conference is completely contradicted by the First Minister’s answer to me in his letter.
“It is also frankly astonishing that the First Minister didn’t know the content of a letter he himself wrote to me and could not clarify what pandemic stock was available before the virus hit. They do not seem to be on top of this crucial detail on the pandemic stock.
“In June last year, NERVTAG recommended the procurement of gowns. This is the second time I have asked the First Minister to clarify whether the Welsh Government saw that recommendation. If they didn’t, was it a case of the UK Government failing to share potentially live saving information with the Welsh Government? Rather than being evasive, the First Minister must answer that crucial question.”