2023 a crucial year for theWelsh NHS

THE Welsh NHS is currently dealing with the most pressure it’s ever experienced. From the ambulance service, to A&E, to general practice and social care, there’s not one part of the system which isn’t overwhelmed with demand.

This is having a detrimental impact on patient care – and it’s no exaggeration to say lives are being put at risk. For instance, during October the Welsh Ambulance Service recorded its joint worst performance for response times to the most serious “red” calls, and waiting times for cancer treatment were also the worst on record.

The entire healthcare system is constantly blocked due to delays in getting patients out of hospital when they’re fit and ready to do so. It is estimated that some 1,000 patients are in hospital beds when they don’t need to be as care packages are not being set up in time.

But there was a glimmer of hope in the latest NHS performance figures published on Thursday by the Welsh Government. They showed the waiting list for planned treatments had decreased for the first time since the start of the pandemic – a drop of 0.2% from September.

Yet worryingly there remain more that 750,000 treatments waiting to be completed – and almost 55,000 have waited more than two years.

With strikes happening throughout December and potentially into January, one would expect these waiting times to worsen once again in the short-term, with both patients and staff bearing the brunt.

So what needs to happen in 2023 to ensure that the Welsh population gets access to more timely and effective healthcare?

For starters, there needs to be a long-term investment plan to transform social care. Without this the health service simply cannot function properly and hospitals will always be overwhelmed.

Secondly, Welsh and UK governments need to enter into meaningful negotiations with trade unions to resolve the ongoing pay dispute. Staff in all areas of healthcare should be paid a wage in line with their ever-growing responsibilities.

And in the longer-term more needs to be done to address the country’s socio-economic problems which are making the poorest in society the sickest. The cost-ofliving crisis is not only plunging people into poverty, it’s also putting them at higher risk of both physical and mental ill-health. Governments have the power and means to do something about this.

There is much food for thought and need for action.

Nadolig Llawen!