NHS Wales to work more closely with social care

The framework sets out the main priorities for the health service in Wales for the next year, with a focus on patient experience, quality and safety of care.

One of these priorities is to reduce the number of emergency hospital admissions for people with chronic conditions. Research and case studies have shown that with appropriate and coordinated health and social care support in the home, hospital admissions can be cut, something that is especially important for those at the end of life. Moving care away from hospitals and into the community can also save money.

Another priority for the NHS this year is to improve dignity in care. This is to be monitored with patient experience surveys and spot checks carried out by the independent health watchdog.

NHS Wales chief executive David Sissling said: “This framework is very much in line with the health minister’s focus on quality, patient experience and outcomes. It will ensure the NHS can drive up standards in key areas. The minister has particularly highlighted the requirement for the NHS to deliver improvement in its preventative work, unscheduled care and integration.

“During the course of the next few months we will be looking to further improve our targets. We will be working with our staff, stakeholders and service users to ensure we are monitoring and measuring the things which will really make a difference.”