Powys Teaching Health Board (PTHB) will face greater scrutiny from the Welsh Government due to serious concerns about its finances, Wales’ health secretary has announced.
Video from Senedd.tv
Video from Senedd.tv
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00:00I move on to the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, NHS
00:05Wales Organisations, Escalation Update, and I call on the Cabinet Secretary for Health
00:11and Social Care, Jeremy Miles.
00:14Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd.
00:17Josh Traw.
00:18For the NHS in other parts of the UK, the health service in Wales is under intense pressure.
00:25Demand for services is at an all-time high, and the NHS in Wales, as elsewhere, is continuing
00:31to manage the impact of the pandemic, both in terms of the backlog of treatments and
00:37in an increase in appointments for care, which people delayed or postponed during the height
00:43of the pandemic.
00:45We have record numbers of staff working in the NHS.
00:48Every day, they provide life-changing and life-saving care, often under very difficult
00:54circumstances.
00:55In the midst of some of the most challenging financial times in the devolution era, weíve
01:02provided almost £900 million extra for the NHS over the last two years, and Iíve just
01:09announced a further injection of funding to tackle the longest waiting times.
01:14Itís part of my job to make sure that the health service delivers the best possible
01:18care and the best possible outcomes for people in Wales.
01:22The day-to-day responsibility for the delivery of healthcare is with health boards and trusts
01:26who have a duty to provide services that respond to peopleís needs locally.
01:32We have robust arrangements in place to assess the quality, service performance and financial
01:37management of every NHS organisation in Wales.
01:41We do this twice a year to determine whether any organisations need additional support
01:46to improve the care they ultimately provide for their local populations.
01:52As Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, I have to take significant decisions
01:57about whether NHS organisations need additional support and oversight from the Welsh Government
02:04to improve care and outcomes in line with the escalation and intervention arrangements.
02:11The NHS Wales oversight and escalation framework sets out the process by which the Welsh Government
02:17maintains oversight of NHS bodies and gains assurance across the system.
02:24Following the latest detailed assessment process, I am today setting out some changes to the
02:30escalation levels of health organisations.
02:35There have been significant improvements in child and adolescent mental health services
02:40at Cwm Taf Morganwg University Health Board.
02:43It has met the de-escalation performance criteria for the latest three months for CAMHS, which
02:51means that the service can be de-escalated in line with the escalation framework one
02:57level from level 4 to level 3.
03:01We will work with the health board to agree the sustainable improvements needed prior
03:07to consideration for further de-escalation.
03:12The health board also achieved an in-year balanced financial position last year and
03:16has an approved balanced three-year integrated medium-term plan and made significant progress
03:23against the de-escalation criteria.
03:27The health board will remain at level 3 for finance, strategy and planning whilst we consider
03:32if this progress can be sustained into the second half of the year.
03:39The health board will also remain at level 4 for urgent and emergency care, cancer and
03:44planned care performance.
03:46We have seen some progress in these areas, but they are not yet sufficient nor sustained
03:52enough to be considered for de-escalation.
03:56We will continue to provide ongoing support to Cwm Taf Morganwg University Health Board
04:02to continue the improvements and I want to thank the staff for their hard work.
04:07Did I turn now to Swansea Bay University and Powys Teaching Health Boards, where we need
04:14to increase the level of support because of the growing financial deficits both organisations
04:21are reporting.
04:22Therefore, I have taken the decision to escalate both health boards to level 4, previously
04:30known as targeted intervention, for finance, strategy and planning.
04:36Swansea Bay University Health Board will also remain at level 4 for performance and outcomes
04:43and at level 3 for maternity and neonatal services.
04:48Despite progress being made in some areas, there are no changes to the escalation levels
04:54of the other NHS organisations at this stage.
04:58This means all NHS trusts and strategic health authorities remain at level 1.
05:06Aneurin Bevan University Health Board remains at level 4 for finance, strategy and planning
05:11and at level 3 for urgent and emergency care performance at the Grange University Hospital.
05:18Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board remains at level 5 in special measures.
05:23We have agreed the de-escalation criteria it must meet to move to level 4 and today
05:28we've published the latest progress report on our website.
05:33Cardiff and Vale University Health Board remains in level 3 for finance, strategy and planning
05:39and Hywel Dda University Health Board is in level 4.
05:44The escalation levels of all NHS organisations are published on the Welsh Government website.
05:49Dirprwy Lywydd, these decisions have not been taken lightly.
05:54Escalation is not a form of punishment.
05:56It is the best way to support these NHS organisations to improve the quality of service and care
06:04people receive in Wales from the health service in their local area and ultimately their outcomes.