Health
Senior doctors in Wales vote to strike over pay
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- A 48 hour strike will take place from Tuesday 16 April
CONSULTANTS and SAS (specialist, associate specialist, and speciality) doctors have voted to strike as part of a dispute with the Welsh Government over their pay, which has been cut by almost a third in real terms since 2008/9.
The results of the ballots, which ended at midday today (Monday 4 March), for doctors working in both branches of practice in Wales saw 86% of consultant voters and 94% SAS doctor voters cast their ballots in favour of industrial action.
A significant 70% of consultants and 58% SAS doctors eligible to vote in Wales had responded to a call to take part in industrial action which will take place from Tuesday 16 April.
Consultant and SAS doctors make up over half (54%) of the hospital-based medical workforce combined, with 3,137 Consultants and 1,088 SAS doctors working in hospitals across Wales. *
The BMA is now calling on all consultants and SAS doctors in Wales to participate in a 48 hour strike, except for those providing ‘Christmas day’ cover.
This level of cover will ensure doctors can provide emergency care, but all elective or non-emergency work will be postponed during this period.
BMA Cymru Wales is working with NHS employers on precise staffing levels that are appropriate and will provide guidance to members in advance of any strike days.
Dr Stephen Kelly, chair of the BMA’s consultants committee in Wales, said:
“This has been an incredibly difficult decision. No doctor wants to strike, but the conditions now faced in the workplace caused by the extreme pressures on the service and unsafe staffing levels have left doctors with no choice.
“Fewer doctors now want to develop their careers in Wales with some health boards reporting vacancy rates of over third for senior doctor posts.
“Colleagues are now choosing to retire early, reduce their hours or move out of Wales where pay is competitive, and wards better staffed.
“Unless doctors are better valued for the work they do, more and more doctors will leave an NHS already under severe pressure in Wales”.
Dr Julie Jones, Deputy chair of the BMA’s SAS doctors committee in Wales added: “Doctors are burning out from covering significant gaps in the workforce and patient safety is at risk. With this result our members have chosen to take a stand for the profession and for patients.
“People are waiting for treatment for longer than ever before, resulting in poorer outcomes and more time in the hospital and we all deserve better.
“This result represents a profession that is not ready to give up on the NHS and its patients in Wales”.
The decision to ballot members was taken after the BMA rejected the Welsh Government’s first and final pay offer for the 2023/24 financial year for those working in secondary care.
For consultants and SAS doctors on closed contracts the offer was 5%; SAS doctors on more recent contracts received as little as 2.5%. This final offer left BMA Cymru Wales with no choice but to enter a trade dispute and ballot for strike action.
Over the last 15 years, consultants and SAS doctors in Wales have experienced a pay cut of almost a third since 2008/9. They received another sub-inflationary pay offer from the Welsh Government for 2023/24 which is below the recommendation made by the DDRB and is the worst offer in the UK.
The BMA is calling on the Welsh Government to provide sufficient funding to enable discussions around an uplift in senior doctor pay that will retain existing doctors and ensure that we are able to recruit more.
Consultant and SAS doctor strike action will take place from 7am, Tuesday 16 April to 7am, Thursday 18 April.
Junior doctors in Wales will begin their third round of strike action a 96-hour full walkout from 7am Monday 25 March in pursuit of a fairer deal for their service.
Commenting on consultants and specialist, associate specialist and speciality (SAS) doctors in Wales voting for two days of strike action in April, Russell George MS, Welsh Conservative Shadow Health Minister said:
“Yet more strikes, this time from senior doctors in Labour-run Wales, will place further pressure on the longest waiting lists in the UK.
“While Conservatives in England put forward substantially higher pay offers for speciality and junior doctors, Labour has consistently put the worst offer in the UK on the table.
“The Welsh Conservatives would spend the full Barnett uplift received for health on health and would at least match the independent recommendation, which Labour has failed to meet, instead of following Labour and Plaid’s plans to create 36 more politicians.”
Health
10-mile trek raises £1,000 for stroke unit
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A TEAM of 18 from CARA Wales took on a 10-mile trek and raised £1,000 for the Stroke Ward at Withybush Hospital.
The team from CARA Wales, an agricultural and rural consultancy and advice organisation, walked across the Preseli Mountains from Foel Drygan to Foel Eryr on 17th June 2023.
Mererid Sandbrook, who works for CARA Wales, said: “The walk started in Crymych and continued along the Golden Road up to Foel Eryr, the highest point of Preseli Mountain. It was a really enjoyable day.
“We were all really pleased to have raised such a great amount of money. We would like to thank everyone who donated money towards our challenge.”
They also raised £1,000 for Stroke Association.
Nicola Llewelyn, Head of Hywel Dda Health Charities, the official charity of Hywel Dda University Health Board, said: “We’d like to say a big thank you to CARA Wales for taking on the 10-mile trek in aid of the Stroke Ward.
“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.”
Your donations are making a positive difference to the health, wellbeing and experience of NHS patients, service users and staff. For more details about the charity and how you can help support local NHS patients and staff, go to www.hywelddahealthcharities.org.uk
Health
Hywel Dda to engage on Tregaron Community Hospital beds
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HYWEL DDA University Health Board is inviting members of the public to share their views about the potential of decommissioning the nine beds currently at Tregaron Community Hospital.
The proposal for a new model of care, which is part of the broader Cylch Caron project, will see the move of care from the hospital to people’s own homes enabled through a different model of support. This can only be achieved by staff working in different ways, focused on keeping people well at home, and with more available to help people in the community.
Peter Skitt, County Director Ceredigion at Hywel Dda University Health Board explains: “Members of our local community will be familiar with our vision, which includes the development of the Cylch Caron model of care that includes an integrated resource centre.”
Dr Sion James, Deputy Medical Director Primary Care and local GP for Tregaron, adds: “Tregaron Hospital has been a part of our local community for a number of years, and we need to provide our community with a range of services that meets their current and future needs.
“The Centre is an exciting and unique project that aims to offer many opportunities and benefits for people in the area. This will bring together a range of services in a central hub for the Tregaron and surrounding rural areas. The project will create an innovative rural model of community-based care to meet care, health and housing need in the area, which is fit for today and sustainable for tomorrow.”
The Cylch Caron scheme is being developed in partnership between Ceredigion County Council, Hywel Dda University Health Board and the Welsh Government. It will consist of a GP surgery, community pharmacy, outpatient clinics and community nursing and social care facilities, as well as extra care flats and integrated health and social care units.
Ceredigion County Council recently announced that they are inviting companies to tender for the design and build of the new fully-integrated health, social care and housing centre.
Peter adds: “While we develop our Cylch Caron scheme, we also need to consider our current model of care for patients at Tregaron Hospital. Despite efforts to recruit to positions, our current level of staffing is insufficient, and our staffing rotas are fragile. Our staff have voiced how challenging it is to support our patients through our current model of care at Tregaron Hospital. Our proposal is to move our staff from being hospital based and looking after the nine beds, to being community based. This will enable us to support more patients in their homes.
The Cylch Caron model of care is focused on providing more community nursing and enhanced care in people’s own homes. This would be achieved through outreach nursing and increased provision of same day urgent care. Outpatient appointments will continue to be provided from Tregaron Hospital and the building will serve as a hub for our staff until the new Cylch Caron Integrated Resource Centre is built.
Peter continues: “We know that being close to home, or in their home, is important for our patients. We want to increase the opportunity for people in Ceredigion to be able to stay well for longer, with the support of enhanced staffing in their own homes.
“At the moment, the patients in our care at Tregaron hospital live more than ten miles away from the hospital, and most are medically fit. And this has been common for a long time. Our proposal to move our staff to focus on advanced care in people’s homes provides a different way of supporting our patients. It will enable us to deliver our community care model quicker and support more people in our communities.
“Patients have consistently shared that they would prefer to be at home, or closer to home, and this tends to enable their recovery. We will work with our patients and their families, and our broader community, to understand their views during the planned period of engagement.”
The proposal to decommission the nine beds and the engagement period will be discussed at the Board meeting held on 25 July. The four-week period of engagement will launch on 1 August and run until 29 August 2024. Individuals will be able to attend online and in-person events and be able to share their views through the Health Board’s Have Your Say portal. Feedback from the engagement will be presented to the September meeting of the Health Board.
Further information on the events and how individuals can share their views will be shared at the end of July.
Health
Equipment and games for Glangwili children’s ward thanks to donations
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THANKS to donations, Hywel Dda Health Charities, the official charity of Hywel Dda University Health Board, has been able to provide equipment and games worth over £300 to Cilgerran Ward at Glangwili Hospital.
The NHS charity funded TV brackets, universal remotes, Nintendo Switch cases and Nintendo games including FIFA, Chocobo and Minecraft Dungeons.
Karen Thomas, Head of Therapeutic Play, said: “We are so grateful that charitable funds have allowed us to purchase more items for Cilgerran Ward.
“The new items will help the therapeutic play team work more effectively and focus their time on the children and young people in our care.
“Being able to play while in hospital means the children and young people can continue an aspect of their normal life. Arts and crafts help as they go through treatments and procedures in hospital, minimising the effects of isolation, stress and anxiety.
“The items will help make the ward and all the areas the children attend more friendly and promote wellbeing for all.”
Nicola Llewelyn, Head of Hywel Dda Health Charities, the official charity of Hywel Dda University Health Board, said: “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 charity and how you can help support local NHS patients and staff, go to www.hywelddahealthcharities.org.uk
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