WALES is prepared for ebola cases, First Minister Carwyn Jones said today.

Speaking at the Senedd in Cardiff Bay, he said Wales had been preparing for several months: “Training for NHS Wales staff is already underway. NHS Direct Wales has an algorithm in place for assessing potential cases. Each local health board has initial treatment facilities and the necessary protection equipment to deal with anyone who is suspected to be suffering from ebola.

"There are posters on display in ports and airports in Wales as well. And of course we are working closely, as people would expect, with the UK government to deal with ebola as an issue that we may face in the future.”

He added: “The risk of an outbreak of ebola in Wales remains very low. There has been so far one imported case of ebola in the UK, not in Wales but in the UK as a whole.”

The current ebola outbreak in West Africa has claimed more than 4,000 lives so far.

The First Minister said: “The Royal Free Hospital in London is the main identified treatment centre for all confirmed UK cases of ebola. There are two beds immediately available should any confirmed UK cases occur and also confirmed capacity has been identified in order to deal with other cases should they occur.”

Leader of the Welsh Conservatives Andrew RT Davies asked him: “What plans are in place for the initial diagnosis and obviously containment within a district general hospital in Wales, before a transfer [to London] would occur?

“I agree with you wholeheartedly we shouldn’t play it up, but it’s a very real risk and people do need to understand and be aware of.’ The First Minister said he was confident Wales was doing “as much as we can at this stage”. He said there were currently no plans to screen for ebola at Cardiff airport but officials were monitoring the situation.