Tag Archives: politics

 Every year in the NHS:

• there are 30,000 births
• one million A&E attendances
• three million outpatient appointments
• an estimated 18 million contacts in GP practices, community clinics and other primary care settings

Innovations detailed in the report include: 

• A unique form of plastic surgery is helping to improve quality of life for lymphoedema patients.  Wales is the only UK nation to offer the procedure, funded through the Welsh Government’s Health Technology fund.  The surgery means patients no longer require compression garments, reducing costs to the NHS.  
• Over 150 new staff have been recruited and new services created to improve Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services across Wales.  New crisis intervention teams are now operating outside of normal working hours and early intervention in psychosis teams are caring for 15 to 24 year-olds experiencing severe mental illness.  

“We have seen several years of sustained improvement in diabetes outcomes for children and young people.  Cancer survival rates continue to improve despite increasing numbers of people requiring treatment. Waiting times to access diagnostic services continue to fall and we have seen a steady decline in people experiencing delays in their hospital discharge thanks to improved links between hospitals and social care.  

“Our new clinical response model has vastly improved ambulance response times and has attracted interest from across the UK and the world. 

“Passionate and committed NHS staff are leading improvements in healthcare services across Wales, services used by thousands of people every week; the Annual Quality Statement takes a look at just some of these improvements, but also looks at what we need to do next.  

“I want to challenge the NHS to keep on improving; to work to provide care that is truly centred on the individual patient, and to ensure health and care are delivered to the same high standards consistently across Wales.”

Under the plans set out in a Welsh Government White Paper councils would work with each other, on a regional and mandatory basis, to deliver a range of different services such as economic development  – including certain planning functions and transport. 

Councils would also decide how they would work together on other services like education improvement, social services, additional learning needs, public protection, substance misuse and promotion of the Welsh language.

Together with these proposals, views are also being sought on reducing the voting age at local government elections to 16 and enabling local authorities to adopt either ‘first past the post’ or ‘single transferable vote’ election systems.

The White Paper also sets out how the Welsh Government would strengthen the role of community councils and encourage democratic participation.

The Local Government Secretary said: 

“These proposals are not about change for change’s sake.  

“Our councils are working against a backdrop of extraordinary austerity and some services are facing a great deal of pressure. Local government reform is essential if we’re to make these services stronger and more resilient to cope with the demands of the future.

“We also want people to be more engaged and involved in the decisions that affect their communities. That’s why it’s so important that the public and those involved in delivering council services, at every level, have their say in this consultation. Your views matter and will shape the way we take these proposals forward.” 

The consultation on reforming local government closes on 11th April.

It is the first time that private sector contracts have been advertised on Sell2Wales and will ensure Welsh SMEs have easy access to the raft of contracts being awarded by Aston Martin for work linked to the preparation and commencement of production at its new St Athan  site. 

Aston Martin contracts worth several million pounds have already been advertised on Sell2Wales for Phase I of work on the former MoD site, with Ammanford-based construction firm, TRJ being one of the main beneficiaries after securing the contract for phase 1 of Aston Martin’s initial work at St Athan. 

The First Minister made the announcement ahead of the official ceremony to mark the commencement of Phase II of works on the St Athan site. He said: 

“I am delighted to announce that we have now opened up our Sell2Wales procurement channel to Aston Martin. This is exciting news for Welsh business as it is the first time the channel has been used to award private sector contracts. 

“The move means that Welsh SMEs will now have easy access to the range of contracts being advertised by Aston Martin for work on the St Athan site and when combined with for example active supplier development from Business Wales could potentially mean over £60m of contracts coming to Wales. 

“Aston Martin is already having a positive influence on the economy of Wales with more than 40 Welsh workers already  employed at the Gaydon site and we know that many more job opportunities will follow before 2020. 

“The company’s move to St Athan is a major success story for Wales and I look forward to continuing to build on our working partnership with the company in order to bring maximum benefits to our economy and enhance our worldwide reputation.”

Dr. Andy Palmer, President and CEO of Aston Martin said: 

“We are delighted to have made another significant step forward on our St Athan journey, as we develop the former MOD site to our new manufacturing facility. Being able to use the Sell2Wales procurement channel has enabled us to promote the various contracts we have to a wider audience within Wales and beyond.”   

Economy Secretary, Ken Skates said: 

“I would like to congratulate Ammanford-based construction firm, TRJ on being the first Welsh company to win a contract linked to Aston Martin’s expansion into Wales. 

“The company’s success demonstrates that the economic benefits of Aston Martin’s decision to come to Wales will be felt right across Wales and not just in the Vale of Glamorgan.”

Owain Jones, Director of TRJ  said: 

“We are delighted to be the first Welsh company to be appointed by Aston Martin for work on  their St Athan site.  

“It is really  great news that Aston Martin is actively looking to engage with Welsh SMEs  and I am sure we will be the first of many Welsh companies to benefit from their  move to St Athan.”

Last year Aston Martin announced it had selected St Athan from 20 potential global locations it had been  considering for its second manufacturing facility as part of a £200M investment in new products and facilities.

The St Athan site is expected to employ 750 workers before 2020, with many more jobs in the local supply chain. It is estimated the move will bring economic benefits worth half a billion pounds to Wales. 

Findings published today in the Fuel Poverty Health Data Linking report show lower health service use among people who had benefited from the Welsh Government Warm Homes Nest scheme.

The study used NHS data to compare the health service use of people who had benefited from Nest home energy improvements and a control group who were eligible for improvements, but were still waiting for these to be completed. 

The research found GP events for respiratory illness fell by almost 4% for those who had benefited from Nest improvements, while these rose by almost 10% in the control group over the same period. 

A similar pattern was found in relation to asthma events, with a 6.5% decrease in the recipient group and a 12.5% increase in the control group for the same period. 

Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths said:

“These findings show not only is our successful Warm Homes Nest scheme helping to reduce energy bills while reducing emissions, but is also having a positive impact on the health and well-being of some of Wales’ most vulnerable households. 

“This is why I am pleased we are continuing to invest in home energy efficiency improvements for low income houses and have committed £104million over the next four years to improve up to  25,000 more homes through the Welsh Government Warm Homes Programme.”

Minister for Public Health and Social Services, Rebecca Evans added:

“The Well-being of Future Generations Act requires public bodies to work together to improve well-being, and to create a healthier Wales.  This research is encouraging as we work to collaborate with communities to improve health and well-being and think differently about the way we deliver services. Preventing ill-health is much better for the individual than treating it.”

Professor Ronan Lyons, Associate Director of the Administrative Data Research Centre Wales (ADRC-W), based at Swansea University Medical School, said:

“We are delighted that ADRC-W has again been able to assist the Welsh Government in its analysis of how the Warm Homes Nest scheme has affected Welsh homes and the health of the people living in them.” 

The emerging research findings have been used in the development of the new Warm Homes Nest scheme and as a result eligibility for a package of free home energy efficiency measures has been extended to low income homes with members suffering from respiratory and circulatory conditions. 

ESRC Chief Executive, Professor Jane Elliott, added:

“The project findings demonstrate the power of linked administrative data for research and policy evaluation and provide robust evidence to inform more cost-effective program delivery and services to improve people’s health and quality of life in Wales.  The ESRC-funded Administrative Data Research Network is supporting many other important research projects across the UK that provide evidence on a range of social and policy issues that can only be answered by linking government administrative data.”