A short debate was held in the Senedd on the future of healthcare in rural Wales.
Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care responds to questions from MSs.
Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care responds to questions from MSs.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00to reply to the debate.
00:01Jeremy Miles.
00:02The important debate reflecting the importance of rural healthcare to communities all over
00:06Wales.
00:07My vision, in response to the question which colleagues have asked, is that everyone should
00:12be able to access quality NHS care as close to home as possible, wherever they live in
00:18Wales.
00:19We continue to work with the NHS to move more care out of hospitals, which is in line with
00:24the approach set out in our long-term plan, A Healthier Wales.
00:28This does include investing in digital, in equipment and in services, investing in our
00:34NHS workforce, especially attracting healthcare professionals into rural areas, and in our
00:40NHS estate as well, and providing strategic guidance to health boards to plan local services,
00:47as weíve heard how important that is today.
00:50Iíll say something about each of these areas.
00:53Last month, the Powys Teaching Health Board announced £1.7 million for new digital X-ray
00:59equipment, which will be installed in two phases, the first beginning this month in
01:03Ystradgynlais, Llandrindod Wells and Welshpool, and the second phase will begin in early January
01:072025.
01:10We have funded this, and the new equipment will produce faster, clearer images, helping
01:14to improve diagnostic testing for people in Powys by reducing waiting times and providing
01:19quicker and more accurate results.
01:22We are also funding the digital medicines transformation portfolio, which will digitise
01:27all prescriptions across both primary and secondary care.
01:31The electronic prescription service is a major element of this portfolio and a major change
01:36programme being rolled out across Wales, practice by practice, community pharmacy by community
01:42pharmacy, including in rural Wales.
01:44At the beginning of October, the service was live in 13 GP practices and 51 community pharmacies.
01:51The pace of change will now begin to pick up quickly.
01:55Once itís been deployed across Wales, the service will allow prescriptions to be transmitted
01:58swiftly between England and Wales, and the cross-border flow of prescriptions is important
02:04for many, especially those who live and use pharmacies in rural communities near and along
02:09the border.
02:11Once rolled out, it will mean, ultimately, that people will be able to nominate any pharmacy
02:16in Wales or England to dispense their prescription.
02:20I want to use this opportunity, Dirprwy Lywydd, to share some examples, as Iíve been invited
02:25by Members, of how health boards are developing new ways of bringing healthcare closer to
02:29people in more rural areas.
02:32In north Wales, Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board has launched a mobile audiology service to
02:37provide high-quality NHS care to some of its local communities.
02:41Powys Teaching Health Board, as weíve heard, is using a mobile dental unitóand Iím pleased
02:47to hear that being welcomedóto provide NHS dentistry in underserved areas.
02:52A mobile dental unit in Hay-on-Wye is offering the same range of dental procedures as would
02:57be available in any high street practice, from extractions to crowns and dentures.
03:03The recruitment and retention of healthcare professionals can be harder in rural areas,
03:09and is a key part of our strategy for improving access to NHS care, including dentistry.
03:15Weíre looking to identify and establish innovative opportunities to upskill and improve career
03:22pathways to make working in rural Wales more attractive still.
03:27Andrew R.T.
03:28Davies AM.
03:29I will.
03:30Yes, thank you.
03:31You talk about upskilling the workforce.
03:33In certain parts of rural Wales, weíre seeing services being downgraded, not upgraded.
03:37So, how can we encourage people to come and work in rural Wales when, actually, the services
03:42there are no more than almost like a nursing home, looking after elderly people, and, actually,
03:46they should be upgraded so, actually, nurses and people who want to work in rural Wales
03:50can do more?
03:51Carwyn Jones AM Well, I wouldnít accept that characterisation.
03:53I will come on and touch on that in a moment.
03:56Health Education and Improvement Wales has developed a scheme to encourage dental trainees
04:00to work in rural dental practices, and the Welsh enhanced recruitment offer incentivises
04:07dental trainees to undertake their foundation year in practices in more locations.
04:11Now, in its second year, it offers an additional £7,000 in salary, plus additional educational
04:19and wellbeing support.
04:20All available places were filled for the September 2024 intake.
04:26More broadly, health boards serving rural populations continue to work hard to meet
04:32the different workforce needs and to attract and retain staff.
04:36For example, each has appointed a retention lead to ensure the principles and best practice
04:42in the NHS Wales national retention programme are applied in the best way to make sure that
04:48continuity of care is maintained.
04:50Weíre supporting initiatives which highlight and encourage health and care professionals
04:56to consider the unique opportunities which working in rural communities offer.
05:01We also embed rural placements in our education and training programmes so that the future
05:06NHS workforce can experience these and make informed choices about their careers.
05:12I was asked about the NHS estate, Dirprwy Lywydd.
05:14Overall, the Welsh capital budget is worth 8 per cent less in real terms in 2024-25 than
05:21when it was set in 2021.
05:24Our ability to invest in public infrastructure, including the NHS estate, has been severely
05:29compromised by political decisions taken by the previous UK Governments, which had
05:34the effect of restricting the flow of capital funding to Wales and the Welsh NHS.
05:40The first budget by the new Labour Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has signalled a welcome change
05:46in direction, with a marked increase in the availability of capital funding for Wales
05:51this year and next.
05:53Despite the constraints on our capital budgets, weíve continued to invest in the NHS estate.
05:58Powys Teaching Health Board, for example, has just announced a programme of essential
06:02improvement works to replace windows, resurface roads and footpaths, and carry out repairs
06:08to the roof, for example, at Llandrindod Wells Memorial Hospital.
06:12An earlier stage of work resulted in upgrades to clinical spaces at the hospital.
06:17Weíve also awarded £4.2 million to the health board as part of the Refit Cymru programme
06:22to install new solar panels, improved heating systems and LED lighting at hospitals across
06:27Powys.
06:28Russell George asked me to confirm the position in relation to the North Powys health and
06:34wellbeing campus, and the health board has confirmed that it still remains committed
06:39to the development of the campus in Newtown, and there are still discussions going on with
06:45my officials in relation to the strategic outline case for that.
06:50Subject to us approving that, the health board will then launch further conversations with
06:55local communities, as the Member would expect, on the next steps which would be needed to
07:01develop the outline business case.