'Focus on seriously ill patients', health chiefs
HEALTH chiefs in South West Wales want hospitals to focus purely on seriously ill patients as they kick-start a major consultation into improving services.
Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board (ABMU), like others across Wales, has to provide a plan to the Welsh Government by the end of October this year about how it can change and improve its services.
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Hamish Laing
It has been running workshops focusing on how future ABMU NHS services could look.
Yesterday ABMU chief executive Paul Roberts said: "The public have tended to think 'if I get ill I will go to a hospital', we have got to develop a new relationship with citizens.
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"Hospitals should be for the very sick, people who are at risk of serious illness.
"Most of the care we should be developing for people that have ill health should be provided outside of hospitals.
"People talk about public services and they talk about hospitals and schools.
"Our job is to get across the NHS is about a lot more than hospitals.
"For the vast majority of people what we need to be doing is supporting people outside of hospitals."
Plastic surgeon and ABMU director of clinical strategy Hamish Laing confirmed there were no plans to close its four major hospitals including Morriston Hospital, Singleton Hospital, Neath Port Talbot Hospital or the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend.
Mr Laing said: "Our experience is that patients are very happy to travel a bit further if they are aware they are doing it for a reason to get expert care. There is always a trade off about providing things locally and having to travel a bit further.
"If you get badly burned in the Isle of Wight you would come to Swansea because we are the leading burns centre in the UK.
"At this point we are looking at what are the changes and opportunities to do things differently.
"We haven't, at this stage, come to any conclusions about what this means for individual services."
ABMU has produced a 15-page booklet and smaller summary leaflet outlining why the NHS needs to change locally which will be delivered to homes across the area throughout this month.
Key priorities outlined in the leaflet include doing more to support people to live healthier lifestyles, spending more of the health board budget on GP and community services and making better use of staff.
It states: "If we carry on delivering services like we do now, we won't be able to meet these challenges and the standard of the NHS care will deteriorate.
"We don't think that is acceptable."
ABMU has also been working with Swansea University on an internet forum called YouTellUs to allow staff and citizens to share their views about the health board's proposals.
David Ford, director of Health Informatics at Swansea University, said: "This is a bold step by the Health Board and a fantastic opportunity for people to help influence the design of the local services in the NHS.
"This is a long term collaboration, aimed at making sure that people living in the ABMU area have their views heard.
"We are delighted to have been asked to help the board with this work."
''Non-urgent cases are adding to A&E delays''
rupert.hall@swwmedia.co.uk
Comments
by DavidVFord
Thursday, May 17 2012, 2:01PM
“Dear Pickless, siarad2, WotsGoneWrong and Alltalk,
It would be really great if, in addition to your comments here, you would consider joining YouTellUs.org and adding your views to what we hope will be hundreds or perhaps thousands of ABMU-served residents.
We hope YouTellUs will be able to give a very clear message to ABMU on what people think.
Hoping you will join.”
by ABM_Health
Thursday, May 17 2012, 1:09PM
“If you are interested in finding out more about why your local NHS services need to change, please visit http://tinyurl.com/83r2pmv for much more information.
There you will find a 15-page booklet, a smaller information leaflet and direct links to a set of videos on the ABMU YouTube site.
The information leaflets are being sent to homes across Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend over the next few weeks, so look out for yours soon. Hard copies of the larger booklet will be in NHS premises and other public buildings, and of course on our website.
The videos include a 15-minute main video, a two-minute 'overview' video and 12 one-minute videos looking at specific services. In the videos are doctors and nurses, and some patients, talking about services, challenges facing the NHS, and how these challenges could be met in the future.
Finally, as Rupert reports above, our partners, Swansea University, have set up a new web forum for us called YouTellUs - http://tinyurl.com/7qhzbta It's just gone live and it's there for you to share your views about local NHS services, and what you think of plans for the future. Please sign up and join inthe debate! Here are the two key wesite addresses again:
http://tinyurl.com/83r2pmv
http://tinyurl.com/6mlu6dk”
by Pickless
Thursday, May 17 2012, 12:31PM
“Easy to treat peolpe at home . Wales does not have the Social care struture to cope with it .
Who is going to fetch clean and look after these people there is much more to it than just doing dressings or putting people on a i.v drip at home.
Infact i think any health board can set this up no problem its just passing the buck more and more onto Family and Councils.”
by siarad2
Thursday, May 17 2012, 12:18PM
“Gee I thought the theory of hospitals was the patients did the travelling, now it seems the doctors & consultants are to.
The last time a GP did a home visit to me was about 1970, I doubt it'd happen today but hospital staff will now do this?
Seems unlikely so it's the failing 'care in the community' is it. Didn't I just read something about problems with district nurses, given some sort of newfangled name of course.
Ouch I've chopped my finger off, however not seriously ill, so the travelling operating theatre will come to my door, in my dreams!”
by WotsGoneWrong
Thursday, May 17 2012, 8:34AM
“why are they moving the morriston hospital HSDU unit to singleton? we were told last friday, i have seen nothing reported in the media regarding this removal of a core service from one of the busiest hospitals in wales. apparently they have a man with a van ready to transport the operation trays and equipment from singleton to morriston, just hope he can run through the 17 sets of traffic lights, terrible traffic jams, not get a puncture, not crash and not lose any instruments in the process of delivery. oh, and it should only take 8hrs to get a tray there and back. lets hope nobodys loved one has an accident, ends up in theatre getting operated on to save their life, and can hold on for 8hrs while they try to get the instruments and equipment needed to save them. IDIOTS. Its the most unworkable and life threatening proposal i have ever heard for the HSDU dept whose staff are doing an incredible job under very difficult circumstances for low pay and no real recognition for the contribution they make towards the hospital continuing to function, and their concerns for patient lives are being ignored or dismissed. In his weekly trust intranet post he called the HSDU staff 'The unsung heroes of the NHS'. Do all heroes get treated like this or is it just the working class ones? :/”
by Alltalk
Thursday, May 17 2012, 7:51AM
“Something else that can't go on is the excessive tiers of management within the Welsh NHS. People are being paid significant salaries to come up with strategies that reduce services and staffing levels. I applaud ideas that introduce walk-in emergency rooms such as those seen in the US instead of clogging up A&E units. But why make savings just to pay for more full-time Welsh translation staff and equalities officers?”