£100m for a new health and social care plan unveiled
HEALTH minister Vaughan Gething has today published a plan to help the health and care system in Wales to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The plan, named Health and Social Care in Wales Covid-19: Looking Forward is supported by an initial £100m funding and looks at the following key aspects of recovery:
■ Reducing health inequalities to achieve a fairer Wales;
■ Building more responsive primary and community care;
■ Creating supportive mental health services;
■ More effective and efficient hospital services;
■ Better working between health and social services;
■ Supporting and building a resilient workforce;
■ Providing accessible digital support.
Mr Gething, right, said: “The Covid19 pandemic has had a significant impact on our health and social care system, patients and staff. As we emerge from the most serious stage of the pandemic, we are now in a position to set out how we can start to recover.
“This plan sets out the broad principles of recovery and more detailed actions will follow. I am making available an initial £100m now to support the first steps, but it is clear more resources will be needed to make a full recovery.
“It will be a long journey, but it is also an opportunity to transform how we deliver health and care services in the future, and to tackle the health inequalities in our society that the pandemic has made even more evident.
“That is why, alongside our recovery plan, I am also pleased to announce our National Clinical Framework, which sets out how we see NHS clinical services developing over the next decade.”
According to the Welsh Government, the National Clinical Framework describes how the strategic development of clinical services can make the NHS fit for the challenges of the
21st century.
It is underpinned by the introduction of “quality statements” that set out in more detail the standards and outcomes we expect to see from particular clinical services. The first two quality statements are for cancer and heart conditions, and replace the Cancer and Heart Condition Delivery Plans, which came to an end in December.
Mr Gething said:
“Developed with clinicians, these documents set out how we will meet our vision for a modern NHS that can meet the demand of the futures, as set-out in our long-term plan for health and social care, A Healthier Wales.”
New technology, much of which emerged during the pandemic, will play a key part in the future delivery of service. The Welsh Government also announced £1.26m to set up a centre to promote the use of new technologies in health and social care. NHS Wales chief executive Andrew Goodall said the health and social care system is committed to learning from the pandemic and scaling up technological innovation. “Previously, only 8% of outpatient consultations were virtual, but this has increased to more than 43% since the start of the pandemic,” he said. “For many patients this is a significant improvement in how they access services and we need to build on that, while ensuring that capacity for face-to-face services is focused on people who need to be seen in person.”
Responding to the publication of the plan Dr Olwen Williams, Royal College of Physicians vice president for Wales said: “It has been a long 12 months, but finally there’s the hope of blue skies ahead. It’s good to see that the Welsh Government clearly understands the importance of supporting the mental health and wellbeing of the NHS workforce through the pandemic recovery period.
“If there’s one lesson we should learn from the past year, it’s that we must value our staff.
“They have poured heart and soul into patient care during Covid-19, and they deserve compassionate leadership. This recovery plan must be backed up by action from health boards. Investment in more staff, flexible working, protected time for research and education – these things are vital.”
Ahead of the plan’s release, Plaid Cymru’s Shadow Health Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth said that support for the workforce has to be at the heart of an NHS recovery saying that any plans that focus solely on “recovery from the pandemic” overlook two decades of “managed decline”.
He said: “Backlogs in surgery and diagnosis, a tired and understaffed workforce and missed targets – this was already the legacy of 20 years of Labour health ministers, before the pandemic struck.
“And they’ll only be repeated, unless our health and care system is completely transformed. Labour acknowledges these inequalities but does not accept the responsibility for this managed decline.
“Plaid Cymru will begin by training and recruiting 1,000 additional doctors and 5,000 nurses and other health workers taking pressure off the current workforce, and our seamless new National Health and Care Service will give care workers the respect they deserve, putting them on the same terms and conditions and pay scales as health workers.”