National Health Service

[SteveH]

Plans to open more so-called virtual wards for patients in England are to be announced by the government.

The measures will enable some, particularly the frail elderly, to be monitored at home by doctors using video and other technology.

There will also be more community teams to visit people in their homes.

It comes amid intense pressure on the health service and a dramatic deterioration in waiting times for urgent care.

In December, the average ambulance response time for emergencies like heart attacks exceeded 90 minutes - five times longer than the target - while over a third of patients waited more than four hours to be seen at A&E.

On Monday, the government and NHS England will publish the Urgent and Emergency Care Plan, outlining steps intended to bring waiting times back down.

The aim of virtual wards is to support mostly elderly patients, as well as those with respiratory conditions, in their own homes rather than hospitals.

Doctors and other health staff review their cases each day and patients using wearable devices can report daily readings and results so they can be remotely monitored.

Patients can receive home visits where necessary, and the technology can also be used to reduce the risk of falls.

There will be a target of up to 50,000 people being supported in this way each month, up from around 10,000 at the end of last year.

There will also be more community response teams aiming to get to vulnerable patients within two hours - officials say up to 20% of hospital admissions are avoidable with the right care in place.

cont. and stats.  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-64439121

[SteveH]

Thousands of extra hospital beds and hundreds of ambulances will be rolled out in England this year in a bid to tackle the long emergency care delays.

The 5,000 new beds will boost capacity by 5%, while the ambulance fleet will increase by 10% with 800 new vehicles.
Details of the ?1bn investment will be set out later in a joint government and NHS England two-year blueprint.

Questions have also been raised about how the extra resources will be staffed - one in 10 posts in the NHS is vacant.

The King's Fund health think-tank said until that issue was addressed it was "hard to see" how the plan would have an impact.
cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-64448354


Thousands of NHS staff across the UK are facing pay cuts because of a change in Covid sickness policy.
Analysis by BBC Panorama suggests that between 5,000 and 10,000 NHS workers could be off sick with long Covid.

Unions are accusing the government of failing to support health staff who worked during the coronavirus pandemic.

The government says the Covid-19 public inquiry will examine these issues when it begins taking evidence in May.

Changes to special sick pay rules introduced during the pandemic mean that some NHS staff unable to work due to long Covid may soon no longer receive full pay.
cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-64405899

[SteveH]

Four important stories this morning............I recommend reading all four.

Demand on GP practices in North Wales is 'unrelenting'
New figures have revealed the critical role that pharmacies and GP practices have played in supporting the NHS during the busiest period in its history.

With the health service experiencing record demand in recent weeks, thousands of people across North Wales have turned to their local pharmacies and GP practices to access care.

NHS leaders have thanked the North Wales public for playing their part by choosing the most appropriate ways to access care, protecting a health service which has been at ?breaking point? in recent weeks.
cont https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/23287982.demand-gp-practices-north-wales-unrelenting/


An army of NHS reservists is being planned in Wales to ease periods of extreme pressure.
Just as volunteers were part of the Covid vaccination programme, a new plan will formalise their role and recruit more into health and care roles.

A long-awaited workforce plan also aims to address over-reliance on agency staff by allowing staff to work more flexibly.

An overseas recruitment drive for nurses is also planned later this year.

Efforts to reduce spend on agency staff are part of ongoing discussions with unions to avoid industrial action.
cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-64475376


THE WELSH Government has today (Wednesday, February 1) set out its plans to address the challenges of staffing the Welsh NHS.
The National Workforce Implementation Plan has been published in response to the additional demands on the NHS workforce since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NHS Wales workforce is at record levels, with over 105,000 staff directly employed currently.

However, there is expected to be increasing demand globally for healthcare workers, with the World Health Organisation predicting a shortfall of 10 million health workers globally by 2030.
cont https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/23290986.welsh-government-outlines-plans-address-nhs-workforce-challenges/


SIGNIFICANT pressures on the Welsh Ambulance Service resulted in concerning performances during December.
In a report to the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust board, Chief Executive Jason Killens shared data and figures on how WAST fared last month.

The report included the hours lost during handover delays, the quantity of fleet unavailable at times throughout the month as well as response times to varying calls.

In December, WAST lost 32,050 hours to handover delays, which equates to 37 percent of its conveying capacity.
cont https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/23288008.welsh-ambulance-service-lose-32-000-hours-handover-delays/

[Ian]

Yep; very concerning, and moreover symptomatic of a Tory administration that's been around for too long and also Brexit.

We weren't ready for Covid but then, neither was the rest of the developed world. If Brexit hadn't happened, we would have had a better supply of medical staff, however.

The handover item is a major concern, but increasingly burdensome regulations have caused the problem, which have made it impossible for hospitals to release patients who need care packages in place. Oh yes, and then there's Brexit.

[SteveH]

BBC report.......Welsh NHS strikes: Most health unions suspend industrial action

Welsh NHS staff have suspended strike action following an improved offer from ministers.

Health Minister Eluned Morgan has offered eight health unions an extra 3% on top of the ?1,400 already promised.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP), Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and GMB union ambulance staff have put walkouts next week on hold.

However strikes by other union members, including Unite, are still going ahead.

The Welsh Ambulance Service has said 20 military personnel will be drafted in to help drive ambulances during the upcoming Unite strike on 6 and 7 February.

Chief executive of the ambulance service, Jason Killens, said: "We understand the reasons for strike action and thank the Welsh government for their commitment to finding a resolution which has got us this far.

"That said, with two days of action still planned by Unite, we would ask the public to think very carefully before calling 999 next week."

The Welsh government has tabled a new deal of an extra 3% - backdated to April 2022, of which 1.5% is consolidated.

This means they will receive 3% this year and 1.5% extra pay the year after.

"Included in this revised package are a number of non-pay commitments to enhance staff wellbeing, on which negotiations will continue next week," a spokesperson said.

"Whilst there is currently no improved pay offer on the table for NHS staff in England, it was also agreed that any resulting Barnett consequential following any improved offer to staff in England would result in a further pay offer to staff in Wales."

The Welsh government said it was awaiting formal responses from each union - who will put the offer to members - and said it hoped strike action planned for next week would be called off.

The enhanced package has been welcomed by the Welsh NHS Confederation.

Read more https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-64512159
Modify message

[SteveH]

New bid for ?84.5m mental health unit and multi-storey car park at North Wales hospital
Earlier plans were rejected after complaints from nearby residents

Plans for a ?world class? mental health unit and multi-storey car park have been revealed at a North Wales hospital. If built, the 63-bed facility will replace a controversial unit for mental health patients at the hospital.

People are invited to share their feedback on the proposed development at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, Bodelwyddan. It will cater for patients from Conwy, Denbighshire and parts of Flintshire.

It is the second time such plans have been drawn up for the site following a failed bid in 2021. Betsi Cadwaladr, the North Wales health board, is aiming to submit a full planning application to Denbighshire Council in March.

The new in-patient unit, costing up to ?84.5m, will replace the hospital?s Ablett Unit, previously labelled ?unfit for purpose? by a health watchdog. It will also replace the older people?s mental health in-patient facility at Bryn Hesketh, Colwyn Bay.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/new-bid-845m-mental-health-26171363?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[SteveH]

Not local BUT.............

A new way of screening ambulance calls is to be introduced across England in an effort to improve response times.
NHS England is asking ambulance crews to review which emergency calls other than those classed as immediately life threatening can be treated elsewhere.

The calls - known as category two - include emergencies such as heart attacks and strokes.

But the category also covers some that may not need such a fast response, such as burns and severe headaches.

About 40% of these lower priority calls classed as category two by call handlers will now receive callbacks from a doctor, nurse or paramedic to see whether there is an alternative to sending an ambulance.

In trials in London and across the West Midlands, nearly half of those receiving a callback were advised to go instead to an urgent treatment clinic, their GP or a pharmacist.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-64653483


NHS Wales: Patient in hospital for weeks due to social care backlog
"It would be much better if I was out there than in here," said Roger.
The 69-year-old looked wistfully across Newport from the window next to his bed at the Royal Gwent Hospital.

He has been here for three weeks after being admitted with an infection.

But although he is now well enough to leave and desperate to do so - he can't.

"I've still got a smile on my face, but I'm feeling a bit down," he said.
"I haven't got the foggiest when I'll be able to go home. I'm keeping my fingers crossed... because it will make a big difference."

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-64639338

[Nemesis]

After 5 1/2 weeks in a combination of Glan Clwyd and Colwyn Bay Hospital my only grumble was the awful food in Colwyn Bay,  but the number of elderly people trying to get discharged was enormous. 4 in my last ward were taken into isolation with Covid which hampered their release and put more work onto the overstretched staff. People could not be allowed home without a care plan in place either, so some were just stuck there.
































mble was that the food in Colwyn Bay

[SteveH]

Nemesis, sorry to hear you have been unwell, hope you feel better soon......... 


Care homes being 'forced out of business' by 'unlawfully low' council fees
'There are a lot of care homes out there who are on the brink of financial meltdown'

Council bosses have been warned to prepare for a raft of care home closures in Conwy putting elderly residents with dementia at risk. At an emergency meeting around 30 worried care providers told senior figures at Conwy County Council that homes were being forced out of business by ?irresponsibly and unlawfully low? fees.

They say the deepening crisis in social care is the worst in living memory and that chronic underfunding poses even more of a threat to the sector than Covid did. The warning follows news in recent weeks that four other care homes in North Wales ? Trewythen Hall in Gresford, Bay Court in Kinmel Bay, Gwastad Hall in Cefn y Bedd, and Morfa Newydd in Greenfield - have already closed or are in the process of shutting, with the combined loss of 163 beds.

Following the meeting, Conwy has delayed a decision on the rates for the coming year and referred the matter to their finance and resources overview and scrutiny committee next Monday (February 20) to have another look at the proposed fees. Among those at the meeting was Clive Nadin, the owner of the 29-bed Abbey Dale House Care Home in Colwyn Bay, who is also a leading member of sector champions Care Forum Wales.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/care-homes-being-forced-out-26255776

[SteveH]

NHS strikes not just about pay, says union official

Improving NHS workers' pay conditions could be key to settling strike action, according to a union official.

Ambulance technician Giles George said shift workers received up to 20% more on their pay which was lost for six weeks if they had to take sick leave.

Mr George, a GMB official in Knighton, Powys, said removing that could "sway" workers who have rejected a 3% offer.

The Welsh government said it would consider the next steps once other unions had considered the pay offer.

GMB ambulance staff will be joined on the picket line on Monday by colleagues represented by the union Unite, which is holding a three-day walk out.

The GMB said 66% of its members voted against the offer for 2022-23, which meant an extra 3% - 1.5% of which will be in pay every year - on top of an average 4.5% that was paid to health workers last autumn.

Mr George said part of the talks with the government had been about changing some pay conditions.

"It's unfair that if you are ill through no fault of your own that you then lose part of your pay," he told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-64687760

[SteveH]

The health safety watchdog has said that doctors, ambulance dispatchers and other NHS staff in England have faced "significant distress" and harm over the past year as a result of long delays in urgent and emergency care.

The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB), which monitors safety in the health service in England, said many staff it interviewed for a national investigation "cried or displayed other extreme emotions" when asked about their working environment.

"The bad sides [of my job] give me nightmares, flashbacks and fear, but they can also make me hyperactive, sleepless and sometimes not care about the danger I put myself in," one paramedic told the BBC.
cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-64727516


Dentists could give up NHS work in Wales, group warns
NHS dentistry in Wales could disappear, the British Dental Association has warned.

Dentists have described being on the brink of handing back NHS contracts due to stress and concerns about patients' care after changes in Wales.

Welsh government reforms aim to make 112,000 appointments for new patients.

It said it was "always disappointing" when a dentist returned their contract and it was investing ?2m annually to improve access to dentists in Wales.

A Senedd committee expressed fears earlier this month that too many people were unable to access an NHS dentist in Wales.
cont  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-64761201


Betsi Cadwaladr: NHS leadership dysfunctional, report saysThe leadership of Wales' largest health board is dysfunctional, a damning report from the spending watchdog has said.

Auditor General Adrian Crompton wants urgent Welsh government intervention after finding "fractured working relationships" at the top of Betsi Cadwaladr, which covers north Wales.

Several board members have shown "signs of emotional distress", he said.
Health Minister Eluned Morgan said the findings gave her "serious concerns".

Mr Crompton said the problems were "fundamentally compromising" the health board's ability to deal with "the significant challenges" it faces.

The health board said it would take immediate action ahead of an action plan to be submitted to its board in March.
cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-64743171

[Ian]

I may be wrong, but is this not exactly what a large portion of the Tory Party want?  They can then point to the wonders of the Private sector to say how much better that is. The only 'dysfunctional leadership' around is the UK government.

[SteveH]

Betsi Cadwaladr back in special measures as board 'agrees to quit'
Health and Social Services Eluned Morgan took the drastic action after she expressed 'serious concerns' over the North Wales health board's performance

Read more https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/betsi-cadwaladr-back-special-measures-26341867?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[SteveH]

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that the Welsh Government should focus on "cutting waiting lists" after Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board was placed back into special measures on Monday.

In a question to Mr Sunak during PMQs, Sarah Atherton, Conservative MP for Wrexham, claimed that Welsh Health Minister Eluned Morgan had told her that it was not the fault of the Welsh Government that the health board had been put into special measures for the second time.

She asked: "Given that Labour run the NHS in North Wales, can [the PM] suggest to the people of North Wales whose fault it is [that BCUHB is back in special measures] and who should put it right?"

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/rishi-sunaks-message-welsh-government-26360927?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[SteveH]

Excellent news for Llandudno Hospital, a great asset to the community............

A NEW stroke unit has opened at Llandudno General Hospital, and has received praise from one of its first patients.

The unit is the second of three new specialist community inpatient rehabilitation centres to open in North Wales for patients who no longer need specialist stroke treatment at an acute hospital, but still require stroke rehabilitation that cannot be delivered at home.

One of the first patients in the rehabilitation centre is Ann Ellis, 78, from Bagillt.
Ann had a stroke on Christmas Eve and was taken to Ysbyty Glan Clwyd and then transferred to Llandudno three weeks later.

When Ann first arrived she found it difficult to talk, walk and move her right arm, but thanks to the support from a full range of multidisciplinary specialist staff, she can now communicate again and is learning to walk with an aid.

?When I first got here I couldn?t talk, I?m still a bit jumbly, but I'm getting better and better,? said Ann.
?I?ve been seeing all the therapists every day, here in the rehab centre we get a lot more time with the therapists, they?re really good.

?I?m learning to walk along on the bars now too, I?m determined, you have to be don?t you, the therapists keep me busy and keep me going.?

Ann?s daughter Caroline Pritchard and sister Sue Toplass have also praised staff, adding: ?They?ve been fantastic, we can go home after visiting and have no worries, because the staff are so lovely, and we know she?s being well looked after.?

cont https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/23358923.new-stroke-rehabilitation-centre-opens-llandudno/