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Health

Hywel Dda encourages vaccination as flu expected to be a major public health issue this winter

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HYWEL DDA University Health Board is urging anyone who is eligible for a free flu vaccine to take up the offer.

It comes as Public Health experts have warned that they are expecting a significant flu season this winter for the first time since the pandemic.

There are concerns that it may start earlier this year and affect more people.

In addition, the Covid-19 autumn booster programme is now live and many people including everyone over 50 years old, and those at risk of severe disease are among those being offered a Covid-19 booster to reduce their chances of getting seriously ill with Covid-19.

If you are eligible for an autumn COVID-19 booster, please wait to be invited by either your GP or the health board. Everyone eligible will be offered an appointment by November.

GP practices are also preparing to invite eligible patients for their seasonal flu vaccine and aim to offer an appointment to everyone eligible by December. Again, please do not contact your GP practice at this time, you will be invited when it is your turn.

Cases of flu (also known as influenza) are already being detected in Wales. Public health scientists say that the flu season could be as severe as the 2017/18 flu outbreak, where 16.5 thousand people in Wales were diagnosed with flu by their GP, and 2,500 people were hospitalised. There was also a high level of seasonal excess deaths that year – the worst for around 20 years.

Since March 2020, the Covid-19 lockdowns and international travel restrictions have disrupted the amount of respiratory viruses in circulation, but as our lives are going back to normal, viruses are returning in higher numbers. This year, Australia experienced a flu season which was earlier than usual and saw the highest case levels in five years. It is possible that the UK – and Wales – will experience similar flu activity.

With Covid-19 also in circulation, and added winter pressures on the NHS, it is more important than ever that those who are eligible for a free flu or Covid-19 vaccine get vaccinated to help prevent them becoming seriously unwell and protect the NHS this winter.

Dr Joanne McCarthy, Deputy Director of Public Health at Hywel Dda UHB, said: “Flu is caused by the influenza virus. It can be a very unpleasant illness and also lead to serious problems, such as bronchitis and pneumonia.

“The pandemic has made us much more aware that vaccination saves lives and reduces hospitalisations. Vaccination may not stop you from catching flu or COVID-19, but it makes it far less likely that you will be severely ill or need hospitalisation.”

Eluned Morgan, Minister for Health and Social Services, said: “We are encouraging everyone to get both their jabs this winter, when flu and COVID will be at their peak, to protect themselves, those around them and the NHS during what will be a busy time for healthcare in Wales.”

To promote the vaccinations, Public Health Wales has launched a campaign encouraging those eligible to ‘power up’ their protection against serious illness this winter by getting the flu and Covid-19 vaccines. The campaign launches on 27 September with digital and social content as well as stakeholder outreach and radio adverts.

Vaccination is particularly important for those who are older, pregnant, or have a health condition and are more vulnerable to complications as a result of the infections. It is also very important that frontline healthcare workers and those who work in care homes or providing care in peoples own homes get their vaccines to help reduce spread.

To help stop flu and other viruses spreading, remember to ‘Catch it, Bin it, Kill it.’

For more information about how to get the vaccines, please visit https://phw.nhs.wales/topics/immunisation-and-vaccines/flu-vaccine-and-covid-19-autumn-booster/.

Health

Welsh Government set to change key ambulance target

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A KEY target for ambulances to respond to the most urgent 999 calls within eight minutes, which has not been met in five years, will be ditched following a review.

Jeremy Miles, Wales’ health secretary, announced a move away from the time-based target of responding to 65% of life-threatening “red” calls within eight minutes from July 1.

The Welsh Government target was last met in July 2020, with 48% of 6,073 red calls receiving an emergency response in eight minutes in January this year.

Mr Miles said a clinician-led review found the eight-minute target, which has been the standard since the 1970s, is no longer appropriate nor fit for purpose.

In a statement to the Senedd on March 11, he explained the ambulance service will trial changes over the next year which will focus on outcomes rather than response times.

A purple category – for cardiac and respiratory arrest – will be added, with the red category for major trauma, bleeding and cases where a person’s condition could rapidly deteriorate.

Mr Miles said of the current eight-minute target: “There is no evidence it helps drive better outcomes. It does not support effective clinical prioritisation.”

Health secretary Jeremy Miles
Health secretary Jeremy Miles

He added: “This means that precious ambulance resources are being dispatched to people who are less seriously ill and may not require emergency treatment or onward hospital care.

“And we measure success purely through the lens of response time in these examples. So, if an ambulance arrives in eight minutes and one second and the person survives – that would be regarded as a failure because the response time target was missed.

“But, perversely, if the ambulance arrived within eight minutes and the person unfortunately died – that would be regarded as meeting the target.”

Mr Miles said survival rates in Wales after an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are less than 5%, compared with 9% in Scotland, 10% in England and far higher elsewhere in the world.

“This is not acceptable…,” he told the Senedd. “We must aspire to do better and to match survival rates in European countries and some US cities.”

The health secretary stated both the purple and red categories will be subject to time-based targets, with an average expected response time of six to eight minutes.

He detailed a focus on early CPR and defibrillation before announcing a group to review ambulance patient handovers, with around 27,000 hours lost due to delays in January.

Mr Miles told Senedd Members: “We must have a significant improvement in ambulance handover performance to ensure ambulances are available to respond to 999 calls in the community and not stuck outside hospitals for hours on end.”

Before the pandemic the median response time for red calls was four minutes and 30 seconds but at the beginning of this year the average was eight minutes and 17 seconds.

Most calls are “amber”, for which there is no corresponding measure, but a further review will assess whether to introduce targets for the category which includes stroke symptoms.

The Senedd’s health committee called for a review of the red target in a report published in August after taking evidence from the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust.

Russell George, the Tory chair of the committee, welcomed the statement, adding: “But, of course, having targets in place is important – they’re there to ensure accountability.”

Plaid Cymru’s Mabon ap Gwynfor also backed the change in direction, describing the red response time target as “largely ornamental” over the past half a decade.

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Health

Planned west Wales ‘super hospital’ on hold for a decade

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A CALL for an urgent meeting between Pembrokeshire’s leader and the local health board has been made after the board recently identified nine ‘fragile’ areas of service.

Late last year, Hywel Dda University Health Board stated a planned new west Wales hospital, based at either Whitland or St Clears, would not be up-and-running for at least a decade.

That scheme would see both Withybush Hospital, Haverfordwest and Glangwili Hospital, Carmarthen being ‘repurposed’, with community hubs developed.

In the meantime, the board heard services across the UK have consolidated and standards increased and Hywel Dda risks falling significantly behind other areas with consequences for patient care and staff recruitment, with work to support nine ‘fragile’ services in the interim of a new hospital already begun.

The board’s executive director of strategy and planning, Lee Davies said at the time: “In the absence of a new hospital in the south of our area to address challenges, we need to consider other options to bring together some of our services.

“We anticipate the emerging model, informed by work on the Clinical Services Plan, will seek to build on the strengths of each of the hospital sites in a way that builds complementary areas of expertise.”

At the March 6 meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, a submitted question by Cllr Alistair Cameron asked: “On November 28, 2024, Hywel Dda UHB announced that, since financial support is not secured, delivery of a new hospital (to be located in either St Clears or Whitland) is likely to be at least 10 years from now.

“In the same statement the health board stated that it risks falling significantly behind other areas [of the UK] with consequences for patient care and staff recruitment and that it has identified nine fragile services: Critical Care, Emergency General Surgery, Stroke, Endoscopy, Radiology, Dermatology, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedics and Urology.

“Could the Leader of Council seek an urgent meeting between the council and the chief executive of Hywel Dda UHB so that he can explain his strategy for safeguarding these nine fragile services which are vital to Pembrokeshire residents and what action has been taken so far?”

Responding, Leader Cllr Jon Harvey said: “I share your concern about health service provision; contact has been made with the health board with regard to a meeting, a response is awaited,” adding that a seminar for councillors on the issue was also due to be held.

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Health

GPs to play key role in NHS transformation

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GPs in Wales will have a vital role in tackling NHS waiting lists and improving patient care, Health Secretary Jeremy Miles will tell the Welsh Local Medical Committees Conference on Saturday (Mar 8).

He will say the coming year must focus on transforming healthcare delivery to ensure more treatment is available closer to home. As part of this shift, GPs will take a more active role in managing waiting lists and expanding diagnostic testing in communities to ease hospital pressures.

Health Secretary: Jeremy Miles

A new initiative aimed at improving continuity of care will begin by identifying the most vulnerable patients who would benefit from seeing the same health professional at each appointment. The approach is expected to improve outcomes for people with chronic conditions and support efforts to keep more patients well at home.

With more diagnostic and treatment services moving out of hospitals and into local settings, Miles will acknowledge that funding must follow. Health boards will be required to increase and declare primary care spending to support the shift.

GP RESPONSE

While the Welsh Government is keen to shift more responsibilities to primary care, GPs have expressed concerns about workload distribution and financial support.

In January, the BMA’s Welsh GP committee accepted a revised General Medical Services (GMS) contract, which included an additional £23 million in stabilisation payments, bringing total additional investment for 2024/25 to £52.1 million. The contract ensures fair pay for practice staff, including a 6% uplift for GP partners and salaried GPs.

Dr. Gareth Oelmann, chair of the BMA’s Welsh GP committee, said: “This settlement does not resolve every issue, but it provides a solid foundation for future negotiations.”

GPs in Wales are also set to vote on a proposal requiring partners to provide a minimum number of clinical sessions, aimed at ensuring consistent patient care across practices.

Health Secretary Jeremy Miles said: “It is vital we work together to address the pressures in our NHS by improving access to care and patient flow through the system.

“The role of GPs is fundamental to bringing the system back into balance. This is not about general medical services taking on more and more but about commissioning services in a way that makes primary care sustainable.

“GPs are at the heart of their communities. I want to work with them to develop a system that values their expertise, provides them with the right tools, and ensures patients receive the care they need closer to home.”

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