National Health Service

[Helig]

Sorry to hear of your diabetes diagnosis, Hugo. It sounds as though we all qualify for membership of the old crocs club. I discovered I was Coeliac last year and have had over 12 months being gluten free. Although my health has improved, it is hard doing without all the goodies. It is surprising how much of what we eat has gluten in it. No cakes, or biscuits for me either. The gluten free varieties are not very nice and not the same at all.

[SteveH]

Excellent news for the hospital and the area

THE Welsh Government has agreed to fund a new Orthopaedic Hub at Llandudno Hospital.

Up to ?29.4million will be provided for the new hub that is set to transform elective orthopaedic services at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) and provide benefits for patients, staff and the wider North Wales community, by delivering a planned 1,900 procedures a year.

Specializing in high volume, low complexity care, the hub will increase annual surgical activity by providing orthopaedic services away from hospitals, it will reduce the effects unscheduled care can have on elective treatment and reduce the chance of surgeries being postponed.

full article https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/23942304.new-orthopaedic-hub-built-llandudno-hospital/

PS
Official government  announcement  https://www.gov.wales/new-orthopaedic-hub-llandudno-hospital

[SteveH]

PREPARATIONS are well underway for the first intake of students who will study at the new, independent North Wales Medical School at Bangor University.

In January, the First Minister confirmed that Welsh Government would fund up to 140 students a year at the facility, and the first 80 are due to start in September next year.

The medical school will admit and train hundreds of medical students in its first decade through both five-year school and four-year graduate entry routes, and will help ensure increased training opportunities for qualified doctors to stay and work within NHS Wales.

cont https://www.northwaleschronicle.co.uk/news/23946203.north-wales-medical-school-bangor-gearing-first-students/?ref=rss&IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[SteveH]

The NHS is doing "everything" it can to avoid a winter crisis in the health service, the health secretary has said.

There are signs the NHS could face extra pressure this winter with record waiting lists and warnings about fewer extra beds..

Speaking to the BBC, Victoria Atkins said avoiding a crisis was her "number one priority this winter".

Planning for winter "started much earlier than usual", creating an extra 5,000 beds, she added.

Speaking on BBC One's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Ms Atkins said: "The NHS has been working very hard to prepare for this winter."

The waiting list for planned NHS treatment in England rose to a record high of 7.77 million in September.

Ms Atkins blamed industrial action over for adding to delays. She said strikes by doctors and nurses had led to "1.1 million appointments having to be rescheduled".

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-67605947

[SteveH]

The government is beginning a legal process to set new rules around the NHS roles of physician associates (PA) and anaesthesia associates (AA).

There have been calls for regulation of the non-doctor jobs for patient safety.

People in these roles are fully trained, but do not currently undergo the types of mandatory checks that doctors and nurses do.

With no obligatory register, any who malpractice cannot formally be struck off, for example.

PAs can already join a voluntary register with the Royal College of Physicians.

The future plan though is for PAs and AAs to be regulated by the General Medical Council, which also oversees doctors, to set standards of practice, education and training, and operate fitness-to-practise procedures.

The government will lay legislation this week so the change can be brought in by the end of 2024.

What do PAs do?       ..............  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-67682080

[SteveH]

Too many repeat medication requests over Christmas could harm sick patients and potentially risk lives, NHS 111 out-of-hours advice service has warned.

It had a big increase in such requests over last year's festive period.

Its director Dan Ainsworth told the BBC this was "avoidable" and puts the service under "significant" pressure.

Prescriptions are often requested because a patient has run out of long-term medication and failed to organise a fresh supply with their GP before Christmas,

Urged people in need of repeat prescriptions to organise them before the Christmas break.            BBC

[SteveH]

Ambulance staff are being forced to book taxis to take patients to hospital when having suspected strokes or while experiencing chest pains.

And there are times when no ambulances at all are available across all of north Wales, according to a senior paramedic.

This is because so many crews are tied up outside full A&E departments.

The Welsh government said it expected health boards to make "urgent improvement" to reduce the delays.

The Welsh ambulance service insists it is trying hard to find solutions, including creating new paramedic roles dedicated to only the most serious calls.

But some staff feel they are swimming against the tide, with the most difficult weeks of winter still to come.

I spent two days with the ambulance service in north Wales and witnessed the relentless pressures first-hand.

'Surely to God they can get an ambulance here quicker'
Arriving in Llandudno with paramedic Aled Williams, it is obvious that Jenny Evans, 80, is in considerable distress.

"I've been lying on the floor here for over an hour," she says, her head being cradled by a passer-by.

"Surely to God you can get an ambulance here quicker."

The ex-nurse and midwife is lying in the road after slipping outside her friend's home while delivering jigsaw puzzles for charity

A policeman is diverting traffic and it is feared Jenny has broken her thigh bone.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-67726545

[SteveH]

NHS Tracker: Find out about hospital waiting times in your area this winter

The NHS is entering another difficult winter period. Staff face similar pressures to last year, with ambulances queuing outside hospitals and people waiting in A&E or for routine operations.

Enter a postcode to find out what is happening in your area with A&E, ambulances and hospital waiting lists across the UK.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59549800

[SteveH]

THE HEALTH Minister says the NHS has 'built on learning from last winter' as the latest performance data for Wales is released.

Eluned Morgan, the Minister for Health and Social Services, has spoken about the data released for the period of October to November.

She says the NHS has 'placed a clear focus on tackling both those patients with an urgent need and those that have waited the longest'.

She added that they have 'continued to see the number of patients waiting over two years fall' ? down by 64 per cent since its peak.

The minister said: "Every day our heroic NHS staff provide a quality service under record levels of demand.

"I?m pleased to see that despite increasing high levels of demand for our cancer services, performance against the cancer target has increased this month to 56 per cent, alongside a record number of people being told that they did not have cancer in October.

"Nearly 2,000 people started treatment for cancer this month, an increase of 8 per cent compared to the same month last year and the second highest figure on record."

Commenting on current waiting times, the health minister added: "I previously tasked health boards with ensuring 97 per cent of those waiting at the end of December 2023 will be waiting less than 104 weeks.

"We were extremely close to achievingin October (96.6 per cent) with four health boards already having achieved that target.

"Over the last three years, we have reduced the average wait time for planned care patients by a third, with the median wait now stable at around 20 weeks.

"Demand for emergency care services remains significant, with the ambulance service now dealing with around 80 per cent more red calls daily than they did before the pandemic. The average number of daily red calls made in November was the third highest on record.

"Despite this, 75 per cent of these calls received a response within 13 minutes. And we saw an increase from last month in the proportion of red calls being responded to within the 8 minute target.

cont https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/24011209.health-minister-reacts-latest-nhs-wales-performance-data/

[DVT]

Quote by Health Minister ... "I previously tasked health boards with ensuring 97 per cent of those waiting at the end of December 2023 will be waiting less than 104 weeks."

I was found to have a large cancer growth in my kidney in October.  I am waiting for an appointment to have the kidney removed and was quoted 2 to 3 months - the surgeon I saw said he would be happy to do it but has no back-up staff due to NHS cuts in Wales ... my appointment will be in London but I am waiting for the call.

Waiing 2 years for action means many will no longer be with us to have the procedure carried out, or is that the plan to reduce waiting lists?

[SteveH]

Dave, sorry to hear your news, hope the phone rings soon.

[Hugo]

I'm sorry to hear that news DVT,  it's bad enough to have to wait 2 years for such an urgent operation, let alone having to go to London for it.
I hope that you have the operation as soon as possible and preferably nearer home in Wales.    I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that every thing goes well for you.

[Ian]

Very sorry indeed to hear that, Dave.

[SteveH]

Up to a third of all staff sickness in NHS Wales is due to stress, depression or anxiety, figures show.

At its peak, in the aftermath of Covid, there were 14,500 staff absences due to one of these mental health conditions.

Figures obtained by BBC Wales suggest numbers have still not returned to pre-pandemic levels.

One union said the numbers were "sobering" and fatigue built up in recent years continued to place a strain on staff.

There were also 10,000 stress-related absences at five health boards and the Welsh ambulance service in the first nine months of 2023.

The six main health boards in Wales which have general hospitals and the ambulance service gave details in freedom of information request responses.

These showed up to 33% of all staff sickness was due to stress, anxiety, depression or other psychiatric illnesses.

cont plus stats  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-67719830

[SteveH]

The NHS England could be facing one of its most difficult starts to the year since it was founded in 1948, one of its most senior executives has said.

Medical director Sir Stephen Powis warned that a six-day strike planned by junior doctors from Wednesday will have a significant impact on routine care.

Hospitals are also having to deal with rising rates of flu, Covid and other winter infections, he added.

The doctors' union, the BMA, said patient safety remains a top priority.

If it goes ahead as planned, the latest strike will see the longest continuous stretch of industrial action in the history of the NHS.

Junior doctors make up around half of all doctors working in hospitals.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-67858854