Healthcare in Wales

Healthcare in Wales is mainly provided by the Welsh public health service, NHS Wales. NHS Wales provides healthcare to all permanent residents that is free at the point of need and paid for from general taxation. Health is a matter that is devolved, and considerable differences are now developing between the public healthcare systems in the different countries of the United Kingdom.[1] Though the public system dominates healthcare provision, private health care and a wide variety of alternative and complementary treatments are available for those willing to pay.[2][3]

The largest hospital in the country is usually the University Hospital of Wales hospital, however the temporary Dragon's Heart Hospital set up in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales is currently larger, and is the second largest hospital in the United Kingdom.[4]

Unlike in England, NHS prescriptions are free to everyone registered with a GP in Wales.[5]

Wales is the birthplace of the modern National Health Service, with the idea rolled out across the UK by the then-Health Minister Aneurin Bevan in 1948.[6] Initially administered by the UK Government, since 1999 NHS Wales has been funded and managed by the Welsh Government.[7]

NHS trusts and health boards

Before 2009, Wales was divided into 10 NHS trusts[8]:

Wales is now divided into 7 local health boards and 3 NHS trusts:[9]

Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust manages all ambulance services in Wales from its base in Denbighshire.

Primary Care

Out-of-hours services in north and west Wales were reported to have reached ‘crisis point’ in April 2019. Services at Withybush General Hospital in Pembrokeshire and Prince Philip Hospital in Carmathenshire had to close for the weekend of 30/31 March.[10] During 2018 there were at least 146 urgent care shifts in Wales which did not have a single GP on the out-of-hours service.[11]

Pharmacies

There are plans to enhance the role of community pharmacists in Wales. The plans commissioned by the Welsh government and drawn up by the Welsh Pharmaceutical Committee envisage pharmacy independent prescribers in every community pharmacy integrated with GP practices for access to patient records. This will enable the common ailment service, which enables pharmacists to treat 26 common illnesses, such as dry eye, indigestion and cold sores, to be extended and the pharmacists will be able to refer patients for tests.[12] 702 pharmacies in Wales provided a total 43,158 consultations common ailment service consultations in 2018/2019, more than double the number in the previous year. In May 2019 97% of pharmacies in the country were offering the service.[13]

A pilot ‘test and treat’ service for sore throat began in 70 community pharmacies in the Cwm Taf and Betsi Cadwaladr local health board areas in November 2018. The pharmacists do a swab test to find out if the sore throat was caused by a viral or a bacterial infection. Only 20% of cases required a prescription of antibiotics.[14]

Community Services

In April 2019 Vaughan Gething announced an £11 million fund to transform health and social care services in North Wales. Mental health practitioners will work with ambulance crews and in police control rooms and crisis cafes, safe havens and strengthened home treatment services will be developed. Early intervention services for children and old people will be strengthened.[15]

Coronavirus outbreak
Main article: COVID-19 pandemic in Wales

The Welsh healthcare system has been particularly impacted by the outbreak of Coronavirus in early 2020. This has been exacerbated by the fact the Welsh population is, according to Nuffield Trust research, on average "older, sicker and more deprived than the English population – so its NHS has to work harder".[16]

The Welsh Government made specific changes to healthcare in Wales to deal with the outbreak, including cancelling elective operations,[17], building the UK's second largest hospital at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, and approving the "COVID emergency ventilator", a device designed by a medical consultant based in Ammanford.[18] Nonetheless, Wales in late March had the largest local outbreak in the UK, centred around the Aneurin Bevan Health Board in Newport which saw a higher number of cases per 1,000 people than any other city including London.[19]

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See also
  • Healthcare in the United Kingdom

References
  1. NHS now four different systems BBC 2 January 2008
  2. Peregrine, Chris (29 January 2019). "Here is why people choose private health care for life-changing operations". walesonline. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  3. "Health centres in Wales | Find a health centre | Bupa UK". www.bupa.co.uk. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  4. CVUHB, Cardiff & Vale University Health Board- (20 January 2017). "NHS Wales | Staff at Wales' biggest hospital reveal how flu is impacting wards". www.wales.nhs.uk. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  5. "Free prescriptions". GOV.WALES. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  6. "Aneurin Bevan and the Birth of the NHS". Past Medical History. 31 January 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  7. "One NHS, or Many? The National Health Service under Devolution | The Political Studies Association (PSA)". One NHS, or Many? The National Health Service under Devolution | The Political Studies Association (PSA). Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  8. SmartHealthcare.com (2 October 2009). "Wales merges health trusts into boards". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  9. Health in Wales: Structure NHS Wales. Retrieved 10 October 2019
  10. "Wales out-of-hours services at 'crisis point' as providers unable to cover weekends". Pulse. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  11. "GP crisis left a million patients without doctor on call over weekends and evenings in 2018". Independent. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  12. "All community pharmacies in Wales to have an independent prescriber as part of long-term plan for Welsh pharmacy". Pharmaceutical Journal. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  13. "Number of common ailments consultations per pharmacy nearly doubles in 2018/2019". Pharmaceutical Journal. 29 October 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  14. "Pharmacy sore throat test-and-treat service prescribes antibiotics in only a fifth of cases". Pharmaceutical Journal. 30 September 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  15. "£11 million in funding announced to bring social care 'closer to home'". Homecare Insight. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  16. https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/news-item/fact-or-fiction-the-welsh-nhs-performs-poorly-compared-to-the-english-nhs#making-comparisons-a-health-warning
  17. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-51877667
  18. https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2020-03-24/welsh-doctor-designs-ventilator-that-could-save-the-lives-of-thousands-of-coronavirus-patients/
  19. https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/locations-confirmed-coronavirus-cases-wales-18053042

See also
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