THE WELSH AMBULANCE SERVICE will hold an extraordinary Trust Board meeting later this month.

Members of the public will be able to watch the meeting online via Microsoft Teams on Thursday (Jun 25), from 9:30am to 10:00am.

Board members are expected to receive and approve the Trust’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2025–26.

Colin Dennis, Chair of the Welsh Ambulance Service, said: “Our Board meetings play a vital role in ensuring transparency and openness in everything we do, and we would invite anyone with an interest in the Trust’s work to join us virtually to find out more.”

A link to watch the meeting will be available through the Trust, but viewers are advised it will only work from 10 minutes before the meeting begins.

An agenda will be published on the Trust’s website in the days before the meeting.

WALES has become the first UK country to offer nationwide access to a new online NHS programme for people affected by gambling harms.

The free course, Space from Gambling Harms, is available through the SilverCloud platform and can be accessed at any time on a phone, tablet or computer without the need to see a GP.

It forms part of the new All-Wales Gambling Treatment Service, which launched in April alongside a 24-hour helpline.

The 12-week programme is based on cognitive behavioural therapy and motivational enhancement therapy, helping users reflect on their gambling habits, build confidence, and develop skills to regain control.

Jodie Morgan, Clinical Operational Manager at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, which manages the gambling service and helpline for NHS Wales, said: “Improving access to support is a key part of the All-Wales Gambling Treatment Service.

“Space from Gambling Harms offers people another way to access confidential, evidence-based support at a time that suits them, and we will be supporting patients across Wales to access the programme alongside our wider treatment offer.”

The course is available to anyone in Wales aged 18 or over via self-referral. Users are advised to spend around 20 minutes a day, three times a week, working through the programme.

Anyone who self-refers is assigned an NHS-trained supporter who can provide guidance, advice and encouragement.

Fionnuala Clayton, project manager for NHS Wales’ online CBT service, said: “Through SilverCloud, we want to remove as many barriers to support as possible and provide people with tools they can use in a way that fits around their lives.

“This programme gives people the opportunity to reflect on their habits, gain the skills and confidence to control their gambling, and get their lives back on track.”

The programme is one of 28 mental health and wellbeing courses available through SilverCloud, which is managed by Powys Teaching Health Board.

Other SilverCloud programmes for mild-to-moderate mental health issues, including anxiety, stress, depression and poor sleep, are available to anyone in Wales aged 16 or over.

In Wales, research suggests tens of thousands of people are affected by gambling harms each year.

The new helpline offers information, advice and support to anyone affected by gambling, including family members and others impacted. Where needed, callers can be referred on to specialist treatment services.

Anyone affected by gambling harms can call the 24/7 helpline on 0808 281 9265.

Professionals and individuals can also refer to the Gambling Treatment Service by calling 03000 859464 or emailing [email protected].

Self-referrals to SilverCloud’s Space from Gambling Harms programme can be made at nhswales.silvercloudhealth.com/signup/.

A NEW report has called for every stage of Wales’ health and care system to be better connected in order to improve patient outcomes and reduce waiting times.

The Bevan Commission, Wales’ leading independent health and care think tank, has published Chain Reaction: Managing patient flows across health and care systems and services.

The paper examines the causes of poor patient flow and sets out ways to reduce pressure on services, including earlier intervention, better community support, improved use of digital tools and closer working between health, social care and local services.

It identifies seven key areas affecting how patients move through the system: people and communities, primary and community care, social care and care homes, urgent community support, 111 and transport, emergency and minor injury care, outpatient and diagnostic services, and hospital assessment, treatment and discharge.

The commission warns that simply moving pressure from one part of the system to another will not solve the problem, and says whole-system planning is needed.

Tools such as telehealth, digital medicines, virtual wards, social prescribing and quicker responses to falls are highlighted as ways to improve patient flow and help people manage their own health more effectively.

Bevan Commission Director Dr Helen Howson said: “Health and social care services are facing huge demands and we know that we are only going to face even bigger pressures. The population in Wales is living longer, but more unhealthily. We are seeing a doubling of the over-90s and an increase in dementia.

“We believe that health is a shared responsibility, extending beyond the NHS, to include local government, workplaces, people and communities. Preventing unnecessary admissions into the system and enabling people to better manage their own health and wellbeing will be critical to help reduce demand for clinical services.”

The report says prevention and early intervention will be essential if Wales is to reduce the number of people relying on formal care services.

It also highlights programmes such as Education Programmes for Patients Cymru, which helps people living with long-term conditions and their carers gain the skills and confidence to manage their own health.

Where formal care is needed, the commission says patients must be involved in designing services around their needs. It also calls for better real-time data and digital systems to improve communication between care teams.

Dr Howson added: “This paper highlights the interdependencies of all parts of the system and the impact of one upon the other. It reinforces the urgency for whole system planning and transformation, built around patient needs.

“By connecting every part of care, we can reduce inefficiencies, improve outcomes and better meet the evolving needs of people now and in the future.”