Health
Pilot of COVID-19 vaccination roll-out to care homes to begin
A PILOT for the roll-out of the COVID-19 Pfizer / BioNtech vaccine to Welsh care homes is to begin on Wednesday (Dec 16), just over a week after the first jab was administered in the UK, the Health Minister has announced.
A designated care home in Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board will be the first in Wales to receive the vaccine, with teams in additional Health Boards taking the vaccine to care homes later this week.
The initial roll-out of the vaccine to care home staff, health and social care workers and those aged 80 and over began on Tuesday 8th across the UK, based on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). Wales and other UK administrations are guided by these recommendations.
There had been concerns about maintaining the stability of the Pfizer / BioNtech vaccine outside hospital vaccination centres as it usually needs to be stored at minus 70 degrees centigrade.
The Welsh Government has discussed at length with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the vaccine’s manufacturer how to repackage and transport the vaccine without compromising the standards of safety and efficacy patients rightly expect. This meant that until now it had not been efficient to take the vaccine to care home residents.
This will mean Health Boards can take the vaccine to settings with at least five residents, rather than using it only in static vaccination centres. It will take a number of days to train staff and ensure standard procedures are drawn up and validated.
At first the vaccine will be issued to care homes in proximity to hospital pharmacies, but it is planned for the vaccine to be available in other settings in coming weeks, once learnings from the care home pilot has been captured.
The effects of the vaccine may not be seen nationally for many months and the advice on keeping Wales safe remains the same for everyone; keep contacts with other people to a minimum, keep a 2 metre distance from others, wash hands regularly, wear a face covering where required and avoid touching surfaces others have touched, wherever possible.
The Health Minister, Vaughan Gething, said:
“Following Wales’ successful roll-out of the first COVID vaccine last week, we are starting the care home resident phase of the programme carefully; however we need to continue to make sure we can safely transport the vaccine to people who can’t come to clinics.
“If all goes well this week, we will roll out care home vaccination ahead of Christmas, bringing a new level of protection to some of our most vulnerable people.
“Our NHS staff have done a fantastic job to get this first vaccine out in a safe and timely manner. I’m extremely grateful for their hard work on this and across the course of the pandemic.”
Dr Gill Richardson, Chair of Wales’ COVID-19 Vaccine Programme, said:
“The delivery of a COVID-19 vaccine to care home staff and residents has always been a priority for the Welsh Government. We have been working for months to meet the challenges of distribution and believe we have a feasible solution which we will deploy at pilot sites from Wednesday. Care home staff have been offered immunisation at Health Board centres whilst awaiting the mobile model to commence.”
“We are now very confident NHS hospitals can safely repackage and transport vaccine to care home without compromising its stability.”
As further supplies become available and additional vaccines receive MHRA approval, a staged approach will see other groups be offered the vaccine, based on risk of serious complications and deaths.
People are urged to wait to be invited, which will happen through NHS systems. Please do not ask your pharmacist or GP.
Health
Phone calls to reduce GP visits for 42% of patients this winter
NEW research from the Royal Voluntary Service has shown that a simple phone call could significantly impact well-being, reducing GP visits by 42% among patients who receive regular telephone support.
The charity urges those feeling isolated this winter, particularly the elderly, to use telephone support services as a way to improve health and free up GP appointments, potentially reducing waiting times. It is estimated that if people experiencing loneliness in later life reduced their GP visits by just one appointment a year, this could free up 588,000 appointments annually.
As winter approaches, the Royal Voluntary Service reports that isolation can sharply increase, especially for adults over 75, with nearly half (47%) of people in this age group feeling lonelier in the colder months. Among those who live alone, one in six say they feel forgotten during winter, and 20% report having no one to turn to for emotional support.
In addition to loneliness, older generations face several winter worries, including increased heating costs, cited by 55% of respondents, and reduced ability to go out, which 29% said they dreaded as winter sets in.
To address these challenges, Royal Voluntary Service has launched the Stay Safe, Warm and Well campaign in partnership with Yakult. The campaign provides a guide for practical and emotional winter preparation, encouraging sign-ups for telephone support services and offering access to the Virtual Village Hall online community for events and activities. Practical advice on money-saving and energy-saving tips is also available through the guide.
Royal Voluntary Service Ambassador Elaine Paige, who has herself made support calls for the charity, described the positive impact these calls can have. “A warm, friendly phone call can transform someone’s day. Some conversations leave you smiling long after the call ends—something we could all use, especially in winter. For those facing the season alone, there are amazing people ready to remind you that you’re not alone,” she said.
The charity’s support services match volunteers with individuals across the UK for friendly chats, reducing isolation and boosting mental health. Catherine Johnstone CBE, Chief Executive of Royal Voluntary Service, said: “The feedback that conversations with volunteers are helping people to visit their GP less is testament to the value of connection.”
Yakult Marketing Manager Reshma Patel added: “Our research with Royal Voluntary Service shows that one in four adults over 75 feel they’d benefit from practical and emotional support over winter. We are committed to helping people access the Stay Safe, Warm and Well guide to support their overall well-being.”
Health
Over 1500 patients in Wales blocked from leaving hospital
THE First Minister Eluned Morgan has been pressured on her government’s failure to clear hospital beds in Wales, leading to delays for people seeking urgent medical care.
According to a report from BBC Wales, there are currently 1,600 patients across Wales waiting to be discharged from hospital compared to England where there are currently 12,000.
However, when comparing population sizes, it’s revealed that Wales is performing worse than its closest neighbour, with 0.05% of the population of Wales stuck in hospital beds compared to 0.02% in England.
The Welsh Labour government have been criticised for their failure to clear out backlogs in the system,
The Liberal Democrats have now called on the Welsh Government to provide urgent social care funding to local authorities to help alleviate pressures on the NHS in Wales.
Speaking in the Siambr on Tuesday, The Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS described how over twenty years of Welsh Labour government in Wales had let to a “desperate situation in our NHS, with services nearing breaking point.
Welsh Labours refusal to change their approach and fix a system clogged up by mismanagement is directly responsible for the current situation faced by thousands of patients.
Delays in discharging patients from hospitals are placing huge pressures on both staff and those awaiting care, but there is a way out of this mess and the answer lies in social care.
I have been told by numerous professionals working in healthcare that the first step towards fixing our NHS is made by providing local authorities with the funding to fix social care services within their respected areas.
By dedicating adequate investment into our social care services, we can make life easier for patients discharged from hospital while also lifting the strain on health services throughout Wales.”
Education
Concern over ‘highest-ever’ school bullying rates
RATES of bullying in Welsh schools have reached record levels, with more than one in three children and young people reporting being bullied, the Senedd heard.
Gareth Davies raised concerns about a 6% increase in bullying between 2021 and 2023, according to a survey of more than 130,000 pupils in 200 secondary schools.
The Conservatives’ shadow mental health minister told the Senedd: “These results are higher than ever previously reported in the survey, which is deeply troubling.”
He said the latest survey showed regression on “just about every metric of pupil wellbeing”, including growing social isolation and a rise in behavioural issues.
Mr Davies, who worked in the NHS in north Wales for more than a decade, pointed to a 2021 legal duty to have regard to the mental health of children and young people.
He said: “The mental health of pupils has declined and reports of bullying in schools have only increased, so the Welsh Government have failed in that duty, unfortunately.”
Plaid Cymru’s Cefin Campbell called for an update to 2019 anti-bullying guidance for school governing bodies following a commitment from the Welsh Government eight months ago.
The shadow education secretary focused on the impact of poverty, warning the high cost of school uniforms can cause stress and lead to bullying.
Mr Campbell, a former lecturer, expressed concerns about penalties, such as detention, for pupils over non-compliance with uniform policies.
Raising a report on “horrific” experiences of racism in Welsh schools, he said one pupil was told a classmate did not want to sit next to them due to the colour of their skin.
“That’s entirely unacceptable in our schools,” said Mr Campbell.
Labour’s Carolyn Thomas warned children’s mental health is at an all-time low, pointing to smartphones and social media as major contributing factors.
She said: “They can be used to bully, manipulate and control, sending young people into an isolated world of despair, not thinking they can get out of it or go to somebody for help.”
The North Wales politician highlighted a petition calling for a ban on phones in schools.
Rhys ab Owen, an independent who represents South Wales Central, stressed that bullying can impact people for decades to come after school.
“But it’s an issue that doesn’t affect learners equally,” he said. “In Cardiff, around a third of learners come from ethnically diverse backgrounds.
“And I was staggered to read a survey from 2020, which said that 61.5% of learners had expressed stereotypes over skin colour, religion and nationality.”
In a statement on November 12 to mark anti-bullying week, Lynne Neagle accepted that bullying continues to be an issue in Welsh schools.
Pledging to prioritise the problem, Wales’ education secretary said new statutory anti-bullying guidance will be published for consultation after Christmas.
Ms Neagle pointed to concerning trends, including 42% of girls scoring high or very high in a questionnaire on psychological problems compared with 27% of boys.
She told the Senedd: “I wouldn’t want to be a teenager growing up today.”
Ms Neagle stated the Welsh Government provided more than £800,000 this year for one of the biggest surveys of children and young people in the UK.
She said: “The link between bullying and mental health is well known. At its most extreme, young people have taken their own lives as a result of being bullied. This is a tragedy for the young life lost, for their family and friends and for whole communities.”
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