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Health

Latest data shows NHS in Wales is ‘creaking at the seams’

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NHS performance data released on Thursday, October 23, contained more bad news for the Welsh Government.

The number of open patient pathways increased from 796,631 in July to 800,163 in August, the highest figure on record and equivalent to one in four of the Welsh population.

Two-year waits increased again for the fifth consecutive month to 24,193 in Wales.
By the end of August, the average (median) time patients waited for treatment was 23 weeks, an increase of 1.1 weeks from the previous month.

Only 49% of red calls (the most serious) received an emergency/ambulance response within eight minutes in September, a fall of 2.8 percentage points since August.

Performance against the 62-day target for patients starting cancer treatment was 56.5% in August.

As Eluned Morgan’s administration continues to struggle with the legacy of poor service delivery and failures to meet performance targets, her successor as Health Minister, Jeremy Miles, hunted for light amid the gloom.

On the same day that the Welsh Government released the performance data, Mr Miles announced £28m in extra funding to help health boards cut the longest waits.

The Cabinet Secretary for Health claimed, “This new funding will pay for more evening and weekend appointments, high-volume clinics, and regional work to target the longest waits in specialities such as orthopaedics, ophthalmology, general surgery and gynaecology.”

The money is certainly needed.

Speaking about the performance data, Mr Miles said: “Despite record levels of demand across the sector, today’s figures show some progress in both diagnostics and therapies, as well as an increase in performance against the 62-day cancer target to 56.5%.”

You know things are bad when being below two-thirds of the way to hitting a performance target is spun as good news.

Mr Miles highlighted that urgent and emergency care services were under pressure, with the second highest daily number of ‘red’ (immediately life-threatening) calls reported on record, and sustained pressure at emergency departments.

Mr Miles tried adding context to increases in ambulance response times by adding that the Ambulance Service responded to the second-highest number of people in the red category in eight minutes ever. However, there was no getting away from a decline against targets set by the Welsh Government.

Mr Miles concluded: “We recognise more work needs to be done to support people with urgent care needs in the community and to improve the timeliness of discharge home to help reduce long stays in ambulances and emergency departments.”

Meanwhile, speaking to BBC Wales, Mr Miles’s boss said she was asking for extra NHS funding in Rachel Reeves’s first budget as Chancellor of the Exchequer.

The First Minister told BBC Wales Live: “I’m really keen to see an injection of money for the NHS in England because we will then get a significant amount of money that will come to Wales as a consequence of that.”

Although that’s superficially good news, regardless of how much money is allocated to the NHS in England, the Welsh Government sets its own budget from the Treasury’s block grant.

That means increases in funding for the NHS in England will not necessarily mean an identical percentage increase in funding for the NHS in Wales.

That is down to Welsh ministers and their priorities.

Opposition parties in the Senedd are likely to press the Welsh Government to spend much more on health, bearing in mind its fragile state in Wales, while cutting spending on “nice to have” projects to bolster essential public services.

Sam Rowlands MS, Welsh Conservative Shadow Health Minister, was scathing about the performance data: “As NHS waiting lists continue to soar, Labour has proven itself as the party of broken promises.

“The additional cash that Baroness Morgan is pleading for will be too little too late and is a testament to Labour’s failure to prioritise the Welsh NHS. Crucially, any cash won’t be coupled with the vital reforms or long-term thinking we need to bear down on these excessive waits.

“Only the Welsh Conservatives have a plan to roll out surgical, diagnostic and care hubs to ease the pressure on hospitals and to recruit and retain healthcare workers with a tuition fee refund.”

Health

Fundraising events raise over £4,000 for ICU

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VICKI COLES and Sophie Moncrieff have raised a fantastic £4,140 for the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Withybush Hospital in memory of Henry Coles, Vicki’s husband.

Vicki and Sophie, with the help of their family and friends, organised a number of charity events, a charity wax, a raffle and charity night at The Bull Inn in Prendergast.

Henry sadly passed away in March 2024 and Vicki wanted to raise money to say thank you for the amazing support he received at the ICU.

Vicki said: “The care Henry received, and the support given to us by the ITU staff, was amazing and we can’t thank them enough.

“I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has helped at this very difficult time. We look forward to doing another fundraiser for Henry’s birthday next year.”

Katie Hancock, Fundraising Officer said: “Thank you to Vicki and your family and friends for raising an amazing amount for the ICU at Withybush, it is a lovely tribute to Henry. We hope you take comfort in knowing the funds will make a big difference to the patients, families, and staff at the ICU at Withybush Hospital.

“The support of our local communities enables us to provide services over and above what the NHS can provide in the three counties of Hywel Dda and we are extremely grateful for every donation we receive.”

For more details about the NHS charity and how you can help support local NHS patients and staff, go to www.hywelddahealthcharities.org.uk

Pictured above: Vicki Coles and Sophie Moncrieff with staff from the unit

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Health

Call for overhaul of ‘unsustainable’ GP funding model

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SENEDD members added their voices to a chorus of calls for fair funding for GPs after more than 21,000 people across Wales signed a petition.

Carolyn Thomas led a debate on the petition submitted by the British Medical Association (BMA) as part of the professional body’s “Save our Surgeries” campaign.

The Labour politician, who chairs the petitions committee, attended a meeting with GPs and told the Senedd their message was clear: the current funding model is unsustainable.

She said: “Over the last two decades, while the number of face-to-face appointments, digital contacts and phone calls has risen, the complexity of the work has been transformed, expenses have risen, and the cost of premises has leapt up.

“Yet the share of the health budget spent on GP services has shrunk..”

Ms Thomas, who represents North Wales added: “In some areas, recruitment and retention is the main worry but in others it’s the crumbling fabric of buildings. In others, it is the rapidly ageing population or a growing workload that isn’t matched by an equivalent rise in capacity.

“But underlying all of these is money to pay for the services that we all want to see.”

Sam Rowlands, the Conservatives’ shadow health secretary, said 8% of NHS Wales funding goes to GPs which is lower than levels from 2005/06.

Mr Rowlands pointed out that more than 100 surgeries have closed in the past 12 years.

Plaid Cymru’s Heledd Fychan criticised “huge underinvestment” over the past decade, telling the Senedd that Wales remains 500 GPs short of the OECD average.

She said: “There were 372 GP services in Wales at the end of June, which is 14 fewer than when the BMA launched the ‘Save Our Surgeries’ campaign. It is clear, therefore, that these consistent warnings about a shortage of provision … have fallen on deaf ears.”

Ms Fychan, who represents South Wales Central, raised concerns about big companies, often located outside Wales, stepping into the market for GP services.

She said: “In the Aneurin Bevan area, eHarleyStreet is a clear example of this. This continues with the damaging trend of profits being taken out of the health system into private pockets, and also makes the provision vulnerable.”

Her Plaid Cymru colleague Luke Fletcher raised a BMA survey that found nearly four out of five locum GPs cannot find work despite patient waiting times hitting record highs.

He said: “That’s in England but here in Wales the symptoms of the same crisis have been visible for a while, yet the data doesn’t seem to be available….

“Anecdotally, I’ve been told of locums in Wales looking to other fields. Some are considering jobs in retail and driving taxis. At a time when we’re crying out for GPs and we all accept that there’s a shortage of GPs – this situation is madness.”

Warning services are in chaos, the Conservatives’ Laura Anne Jones raised concerns about a survey showing 37% of Welsh GPs may leave the profession within five years.

Julie Morgan said she has heard the same story from surgeries in her constituency: “They’re struggling to maintain safe levels of service and worried about being able to continue.”

The former minister told the Senedd that Cardiff North is in the bottom 1% of funded practices in the UK due to the “outdated” Carr-Hill formula used to calculate funding.

Jenny Rathbone, a fellow Labour backbencher, highlighted the Deep End Cymru project, which aims to support 100 practices in the most deprived areas.

Jane Dodds, the Liberal Democrats’ leader in Wales, raised concerns about staff welfare and reiterated calls for a premium to recognise the significant challenges for GPs in rural areas.

Responding to the debate on November 6, Jeremy Miles said surgeries in Wales see an astonishing number of patients with around 1.5 million every month.

Wales’ health secretary stressed: “I want to reassure GPs that we have heard the messages about the huge demands and the pressure on staff welfare.”

Mr Miles said ministers have chosen to commit £1bn over this Senedd term to clear the backlog and reduce waiting times following the pandemic.

He told the Senedd: “By necessity, this means that a larger proportion of funding has gone to secondary care. Redressing this imbalance will be a priority for future funding decisions.

“And we are committed to the principle of providing more care closer to home.”

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Charity

NHS staff take on Parkrun for charity

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STAFF from the Frailty Unit at Withybush Hospital took part in the Haverfordwest Parkrun and raised a fantastic £1,478 for the unit.

The staff took part in the 5k Parkrun in August at the Haverfordwest cricket club, whilst others volunteered, sold refreshments and held a raffle.

Lisa Marshall, Senior Sister, said: “I am so proud of Estelle and the team for organising a successful fundraiser and helping to raise money for our unit.

“It was a great team building day and we all had lots of fun. We are as always grateful for the support and donations we receive, and we look forward to our next fundraiser!”

Katie Hancock, Pembrokeshire Fundraising Officer, said: “We’d like to say a big thank you and well done to Estelle, Lisa and the Frailty Unit team for completing their Parkrun fundraiser.

“Thank you so much for dedicating your time to once again raising funds for your amazing unit.

“The support of our local communities enables us to provide services over and above what the NHS can provide in the three counties of Hywel Dda and we are extremely grateful for every donation we receive.”

For more details about the NHS charity and how you can help support local NHS patients and staff, go to the Hywel Dda Charities website.

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