UK Covid-19 death figures

[jon1959]

So tell me what UK gov has had to do with the Covid situation in Wales?

I thought a few pages back that you were asking a genuine (if odd) question.

But you have ignored all the many posts explaining in detail why the WAG does not have full autonomy in making and implementing public health decisions in Wales - from the need to tie lock-down to a Treasury funded financial rescue package, from the dominant UK-wide messaging from the Westminster government, through to issues about the need for collective procurement (economies of scale, avoiding outbidding other nations/regions, size of orders to secure contracts). And other factors as well that other posters have spelt out.

So clearly you are just on a wind up - and getting some perverse pleasure out of constantly restating the same discredited mantra.

[lisvaneblue]

I thought a few pages back that you were asking a genuine (if odd) question.

But you have ignored all the many posts explaining in detail why the WAG does not have full autonomy in making and implementing public health decisions in Wales - from the need to tie lock-down to a Treasury funded financial rescue package, from the dominant UK-wide messaging from the Westminster government, through to issues about the need for collective procurement (economies of scale, avoiding outbidding other nations/regions, size of orders to secure contracts). And other factors as well that other posters have spelt out.

So clearly you are just on a wind up - and getting some perverse pleasure out of constantly restating the same discredited mantra.

Im not on a wind up, and I do have a very good understanding of how UK healthcare operates. Ive been trying keep a balanced view from the many comments critical of UK Gov and it's negative influence on the control of Covid in Wales.
Don't for the moment think I am supporting the UK gov, I think its record on this pandemic is wanting, but I feel similarly about Wales where lots of key things like testing, PHE etc...you don't need me to go on...have also been wanting

There have been a lot of comments explaining why WAG does not have full autonomy and Ive been critical of some of them.
You mention the need for collective procurement, where did that come from?. And in my extensive experience in NHS procurement Ive never come across a bidding war nation v nation.

There is regular, but hardly dominant UK wide messaging giving the UK Gov angle, but I like many get my updates from BBC News. If you enjoy listening to the political updates, then Wales has its own each day as well

PHW would be dismissive of comments that through WAG it does not have full autonomy. It has the same level of autonomy as the other UK PublicHealth bodies.

The other issue frequently raised is that UK Gov moved too slowly on lockdown, and Wales couldn't act sooner because of the Treasury funding packages.

Yes, UK was behind other nations and should have moved sooner. I believe from comments made by Mark Drakeford and Nicola Sturgeon that they were well involved with Westminster on details of the lockdown and it was a good example of working in unison. Could it have happened sooner, maybe, but The Covid bill was linked to it and the financial packages, so who knows.

But Wales could have done some things sooner, without waiting for the 'lockdown' and to be fair did. One example on the board was closing schools. Scotland too worked quicker than Wales and England in outlawing crowds. I believe Wales could have done more, and as the pandemic has evolved it has done some things differently to other home nations and at a different pace.

So there you have it. Some people agree my views, some don't, and some just set about with personal insults because they say Im a Tory and live in a leafy part of Cardiff. That's life