National Health Service

[SteveH]

A POLITICIAN claims he has been contacted by residents in Conwy and Denbighshire who are struggling to access flu vaccine appointments.

Darren Millar, Clwyd West MS, has called on Vaughan Gething, Wales' health minister, to ensure there is sufficient flu and pneumonia vaccines this year.

He terms the lack of access to appointments as "completely unacceptable".

Speaking in the Welsh Parliament, Mr Millar said: "The increase in demand for vaccines, is very, very welcome, as is the extension of the eligibility criteria, but, unfortunately, I've have people in my constituency who have been told they cannot schedule a flu jab appointment with their GPs until a month hence, which is clearly completely unacceptable, particularly for those in those vulnerable categories.

“And it's not just the flu vaccine that some people need to access; there's also the vaccine to protect vulnerable people against pneumonia, and I'm aware that there are shortages of that vaccine across Wales too."

cont   https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/18782709.clwyd-west-ms-raises-concern-told-patients-may-asked-wait-flu-vaccine/

[Hugo]

I wonder if the people who haven't been able to get a flu jab at their GP's surgery have actually contacted a chemist before going to the trouble of contacting their MS?
We couldn't get in at our GP'S so we contacted Lloyd's Chemist and an appointment was soon arranged.    There didn't seem to be a problem with the vaccine or getting an appointment

[Blongb]

I got mine this morning at Ysbyty'r Enfys - the Rainbow Hospital at  Venue Cymru it was a full production line with at least 10 ushers showing you the way to the empty Covid equipped Ward where 8 Bays had been reset just to give flu jabs, I was in at my allocated time of 9:30 and out by 9:34. Make an appointment through your GP and get it done. 

[SteveH]

North Wales mum hit with £10 in 'hidden' charges after phoning free NHS helpline when son took ill
Gemma Kerans from Llandudno was directed by the service to call an 0845 premium rate number

A mother who dialled the NHS helpline for advice when her three-year-old took ill says people need to know about 'hidden' charges after being billed almost £10 for a 13-minute call.

It advised the toddler could have had an infection and to call the NHS' 111 line - a free service for people living in many parts of Wales - which Miss Kerans did.
She was then directed by the service to call another number - 0845 4647 - and had a conversation with an operator which lasted 13 minutes.

She said: "I called 111 for reassurance and the first indication I had was when the phone made a noise and it said your call will be disconnected in one minute.
"I told the lady on the line it was about to be disconnected and she said 'could it be your bill'."
Miss Kerans then realised she had put an alert on her phone capping premium rate call charges.
She said: "I'm only allowed £10 of extra charges each month before it cuts me off."
The charge for 13 minutes speaking to the 111 service was £9.87, so she went onto the internet to see why Llandudno wasn't in the coverage area.

The 'free' helpline service was trialled in Abertawe Bro Morgannwg Health Board and Carmarthenshire areas from October 2016 and Welsh ministers announced it would be rolled out nationally in early 2018.

However that roll-out was not due to be completed until 2021 with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board area being the last one in the country to receive it.

The Welsh Government has confirmed it will now be the first quarter of 2022 before people in North Wales can access free calls to the service.

Full story  https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/north-wales-mum-hit-10-19144693

[SteveH]

Plans for a “world class” multi-million pound mental health unit and multi-storey car park have been lodged with Denbighshire council.

The scheme, which will see a replacement, 63-bed building constructed for the Ablett unit at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, will cover a 2.8 hectare area adjacent to the current pathology labs.

A multi-storey car park, capable of accommodating more than 601 vehicles inside and 128 externally, will be built on the open car park site opposite the hospital’s renal and diabetes unit.

cont   https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/18834644.multi-million-pound-hospital-plan-will-world-class/

[SteveH]

Interesting article on BCUHB ..........

A health board which has been in Special Measures for five-and-a-half years has been guaranteed an £82m a-year boost despite continued “poor performance”.

Health and social care minister Vaughan Gething announced the package of “strategic assistance” cash for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board to the Senedd on Tuesday.

He said the money, which will be given annually over the next three-and-a-half years, would “enable the health board to reset and plan sustainably for the future”.

The cash will be for:
Covering the deficit of up to £40 million a year
Funding to improve unscheduled care and build a sustainable planned care programme, including orthopaedics, of £30 million a year

£12 million a year to support performance improvement and implementation of the mental health strategy in partnership; and support to build broader capability and capacity in the organisation.

Cont  https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/18849766.betsi-cadwaladr-health-board-get-82m-annual-spending-boost-despite-remaining-special-measures/

[SteveH]

Two dental practices to shut forcing thousands to find new dentist
The Caernarfon and Colwyn Bay Bupa private practices will close in early 2021.

Thousands of dental patients will be forced to find a new dentist after a private health company announced the closure of two North Wales practices.

Bupa told staff this week it would be closing practices on Prince's Drive, Colwyn Bay, and on Cibyn Industrial Estate, Caernarfon, in February of next year.

It is believed more than 20 staff work across the two sites and the closures will reportedly affect more than 20,000 patients, although the company declined to say precisely how many.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/two-dental-practices-shut-forcing-19265252

[SteveH]

See above story..........

A North Wales Dental Training Unit will be established as part of wide ranging plans to improve access to dentistry services across the region.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) are progressing plans to introduce a training unit in Bangor while more immediate action is being taken to improve dentistry provision across parts of Anglesey, Gwynedd and Conwy.

The health board is working in partnership with Health Education Improvement Wales (HEIW), Bangor University and Welsh Government on its plans, which would boost the number and skillset of dentists and dental care professionals working across the region.

The plans are being developed in response to difficulties recruiting and retaining dentists in North Wales – which has resulted in the closure of a number of practices across Anglesey, Gwynedd and Conwy in recent years.

cont   https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/18884597.north-wales-first-dental-training-unit-established/

[SteveH]

THE ambulance service has said a person dialled 999 because they couldn’t sleep and another because a pigeon had injured its wing.

More than 450,000 calls were made to the Welsh Ambulance Service in the last year and almost a quarter were non-essential.

The service has urged people only to call 999 in a serious or life-threatening emergency as it enters its busiest period over the winter months.

Other calls ranging from the unnecessary to the ridiculous also included someone with onion juice in their eye, a person suffering with toothache and someone who had trapped their finger in a door.


“Our ambulance service exists to help people who are seriously ill or injured, or where there is an immediate threat to their life," said chief executive Jason Killens.

“That’s people who’ve stopped breathing, people with chest pain or breathing difficulties, loss of consciousness, choking, severe allergic reactions, catastrophic bleeding or someone who is having a stroke.

“Non-essential calls represent nearly a quarter of our 999 calls, and time spent dealing with these could be time spent helping someone in a life or death situation.”

More suitable alternatives to the 999 emergency line include the NHS 111 Wales, the pharmacist, dentist, optician, GP and minor injuries unit.

cont  https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/18894540.welsh-ambulance-service-urges-real-emergency-calls-busy-winter-months-ahead/

[SteveH]

The message behind this Daily Post story is.... check with your local chemist, before visiting A&E

Everything you need to know to avoid spending hours in busy emergency departments this winter
With the dreaded winter season upon us the professionals reveal how to avoid being trapped in emergency departments

As our health board gears up for the annual winter rush, there are worries a perfect storm of seasonal and Covid pressures could overwhelm major hospital emergency departments (EDs).

Every year it seems Betsi Cadwaldr University Health Board suffers its busiest ever winter period, with an ever-increasing number of frustrated people who see emergency departments as a starting point to their treatment, rather than the emergency resource it is.

Throw Covid into the equation and the recipe for this year becoming unmanageable for staff, with increased social distancing and a need to clean down thoroughly between patients, is easy to visualise.

So the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has teamed up with Betsi Cadwaladr to assess how best to avoid interminable waits in ED and leave the service free for the most serious cases - but where to start?

Well the answer to that may be closer to your local high street than your local hospital, get in touch with a pharmacy first.

People should make sure they are prepared for minor ailments by having paracetamol and any prescription drugs they need on hand and ordered in plenty of time, so they're not left short. He's also urging people who qualify, which now includes anyone over 50 years old, to get their flu vaccine arranged as soon as possible.

"If people feel they aren’t able to treat themselves, or need advice on something they don’t have a remedy for at home, then I would encourage people to get in touch with a pharmacy first. For minor illnesses, we really should be the first port of call."

cont    https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/everything-you-need-know-avoid-19361694

[SteveH]

The First Minister has blamed a dentistry crisis in North Wales on the effects of Brexit.

It came after Darren Millar, MS for Clwyd West, asked Mark Drakeford to step in and sort out "the pickle we're currently in" with dentistry in his constituency.

He said the closure of the Bupa Dental practice in Colwyn Bay left patients "extremely worried" about how they will get treatment after it closes in February next year.

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/first-minister-blames-north-wales-19427215

[SteveH]

Hardly encouraging young people to train in nursing.............

Calls have been made for student nurses in Wales to be paid while on clinical placements.

This was the case during the first wave of the pandemic last year as emergency standards were brought in by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NCM).

The emergency standards remove the students’ supernumerary status and makes them part of the rostered workforce for a period of time.
This is not currently implemented in Wales, but the emergency standards are active in England where student nurses continue to be paid for their placement work.

Some student nurses in Wales have been left with no means of income as a result.
One student nurse said she is unable to undertake part time work or bank work on other wards because she has been placed on a Covid ward.

The only income she has is her student loan, which she says is not enough to cover her bills.

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/student-nurses-wales-arent-paid-19743981

[SteveH]

AS part of a four-nations agreement, Health Minister Vaughan Gething has today (Thursday 25 February) announced the ending of a ban on using UK plasma to manufacture medicines.

The lifting of the ban follows a review by the Commission on Human Medicine (CHM) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

It was introduced in the UK in 1999 in response to the variant Creutzfeld–Jakob (vCJD) epidemic, believed to be associated with the consumption of meat products infected with BSE, commonly known as "mad cow disease".

Since the introduction of the ban, plasma-derived medicinal products have had to be imported, with the main source at present being the USA.

Health Minister Vaughan Gething said: “The need to import plasma into the UK has meant NHS Wales has had to prioritise supply of medicines to patients with the highest clinical need.

“The pandemic is placing further pressures on this supply due to the increased need for blood plasma in the development of new Covid-19 medicines coupled with the falling numbers of blood plasma donations.

“Following multiple reviews of the evidence, we have been advised that plasma sourced in the UK is safe for the manufacture of these medicines and as such, I along with the other health ministers across the UK have lifted the ban to potentially save their lives and help people to manage their conditions.”

Director of the Welsh Blood Service, Alan Prosser, said: “The Welsh Blood Service welcomes the decision to safely end the ban on using UK plasma to manufacture medicines.

cont  https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/19117026.ban-lifted-using-uk-plasma-donations-make-medicines/

[SteveH]

A NEW Targeted Intervention framework for the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has been published following its de-escalation from special measures in November last year.

Minister for Health and Social Services, Vaughan Gething has set out four key areas that require improvement within the health boards, they are –

Mental Health (adult and children)
Strategy, planning and performance
Leadership (including governance, transformation and culture)
Engagement (patients, public, staff and partners)

These areas aligns with the recommendations from the work undertaken by professional bodies and general feedback about the health board over the last 12 months.

Welsh Government will work closely with the health board throughout the process of Targeted Intervention ensuring that progress is being made and agreeing appropriate interventions where necessary. A further assessment will take place in May and any changes will be added to the framework.

cont   https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/19135291.health-minister-outlines-improvement-plans-betsi-cadwaladr-university-health-board/

[SteveH]

WALES' health minister Vaughan Gething has said he understands why NHS staff are “hurt and upset” by the UK Government’s proposed 1% pay rise.

Mr Gething told Friday's coronavirus briefing in Cardiff: “We’re waiting to see the outcome of the pay review body.

“We expect to publish the evidence that we’ve provided to that pay review body if not today, then in the very near future.

“We certainly have not done what the UK Government has done and tried to set an artificial ceiling on the pay rise that should be provided.

“We think that our staff do deserve a pay rise. We’re asking the pay review bodies for evidence for our determination, and advice on what that should be.

“We want to make sure that the UK Government are in a position to properly fund that pay rise.

“I understand why so many staff across our NHS will be feeling hurt and upset and a little angry at the evidence that the Department for Health and Social Care at the UK level have provided.

cont   https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/19139172.welsh-health-minister-says-our-nhs-staff-deserve-pay-rise/