Jeremy Miles MS responds to NHS challenges in rural Wales debate

Tindle News

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.

Transcript

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.

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