News from Cwm Taf University Health Board meeting
Cwm Taf University Health Board held its latest Board meeting on September 6th 2017 at Ynysmeurig House in Abercynon. This bulletin sets out the key messages from the meeting about healthcare provision in Cwm Taf.
The full Board papers can be found here but if you have any queries or questions about the issues discussed please do not hesitate to contact the communications team at cwmtaf.news@wales.nhs.uk
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Final Board meeting for Chairman Dr Chris Jones and three Independent Members of the Board
CEO Allison Williams and members of the Board paid tribute to Dr Chris Jones as he chaired his final Board meeting this week. Dr Jones’s maximum eight year term comes to an end later this month, a period which has seen significant, change, investment and innovation in the health board.
His stewardship of the Board and leadership both within and outside the organisation has ensured a number of key developments for Cwm Taf including the opening of Ysbyty Cwm Rhondda and Ysbyty Cwm Cynon; the development of the first health park in Wales at Keir Hardie in Merthyr Tydfil; a new Academic Unit and approved health board Integrated Medium Term Plan for four consecutive years. Tributes were also paid to Councillor Clive Jones, John Hill-Tout and Anthony Seculer who were also attending their final Board meeting having served their maximum term.
Professor Marcus Longley will take over as chairman of the Board on October 1st and will be joined by four new Independent Members for legal (James Hehir), finance (Paul Griffiths), community (Keiron Montague) and local government (Councillor Robert Smith). More information here
Major Trauma Unit for South Wales
Board members have approved a recommendation to formally engage with the public and stakeholders on the establishment of a Major Trauma Network for South and West Wales, with a Major Trauma Centre located in Cardiff.
Following a comprehensive review, an Independent Clinical Panel has recommended that a Major Trauma Centre should be located at the University Hospital of Wales, with Morriston Hospital in Swansea as a large trauma unit supported by other hospitals in the South Wales region.
A ‘major trauma network’ comprises a group of hospitals, emergency services and rehabilitation services, that work together to make sure a patient receives the best care for life threatening or life changing injuries. A network includes one major trauma centre and several trauma units spread across a region.
Other health boards will also consider the recommendations of the Independent Clinical Panel at their Board meetings later this month.
You can read the full reports here
Proposed relocation of Pontypridd health centre branch to the Dewi Sant Health Park
Following an engagement exercise undertaken with patients registered with the Pontypridd Health Centre branch of the Taff Vale GP Practice in Pontypridd, the Board has approved the relocation of the branch to the new Dewi Sant Health Park.
The engagement outcome report, which was shared with Cwm Taf Community Health Council, showed that most of the comments received were supportive of the move acknowledging that the Health Park would offer an improved environment, more space, and access to an enhanced range of services both within the GP practice and across the wider Health Park.
Of the concerns raised, all related to access to the Dewi Sant Health Park site, particularly for less mobile patients and those reliant on public transport. Actions are therefore being taken to address the issues raised including the development of a Parking and Transport Strategy in conjunction with the local authority, to maximise on-site parking for patients and improve bus links. The move is expected to take place at the end of September.
Expansion of Cwm Taf University Health Board boundary
The Chief Executive provided an update to the Board following the Local Government Minister’s recent announcement regarding Bridgend and his intention to consult in the autumn on proposals for Bridgend to become part of the Cwm Taf catchment.
Members noted that a series of further related meetings would be taking place to consider the announcement and its implications for both Cwm Taf and Abertawe Bro Morgannwg UHB.
Cwm Taf re-iterates commitment to swift and effective handling of complaints
The Annual Concerns Report presented to Board members highlighted the positive work undertaken in the last year to achieve a reduction in the number of formal complaints from 688 to 325, as well as the ongoing work of our patient liaison service to handle more concerns informally.
A number of improvements have been made in the management of concerns within the Health Board including a training programme for front line teams which has enabled staff to manage concerns where and when they arise, allowing a more timely response.
Cwm Taf’s annual report also shows that compliance with the 30 working day target increased to 45% during 2016/2017 and the health board is working hard to continuously improve on this. The health board currently has no complaints that have been open longer than six months. The Chief Executive also made reference to the Public Services Ombudsman Wales Annual letter which recognised the good work and progress the Health Board was making.
Stay Well @ Home Service ensures more patients cared for outside of hospital
The Stay Well @ Home (SW@H) service is now established, following successful recruitment into a number of new posts across health and social care in Cwm Taf. The aim of the service is to reduce unnecessary hospital stays and ensure the right care is provided at home to prevent later re-admissions.
Teams at both the Royal Glamorgan and Prince Charles Hospitals are now in place and early indications are showing reduced lengths of stay, in particular for patients 61 years and over. A new medicines team is also planned to complement the service to support people to better manage their medicines at home and prevent issues developing.
Adult Mental Health
Work to develop Ysbyty George Thomas in Treorchy into a Health and Well Being Hub for Dementia continues through the Valley LIFE project board. The first two board meetings have now been held, bringing together partners from the health board and the local authority. Plans are now being discussed with Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council to progress the development of a similar model in their region in parallel to the Ysbyty George Thomas development in the Rhondda.
The Health Board’s performance against the Mental Health Measure continues to develop positively, with the Directorate’s performance exceeding the compliance targets for Part 1 and 2.
Health Board Performance
- Unscheduled care
Performance against the unscheduled care targets in July showed a slight deterioration in position compared to last month. At a Health Board level, the 4 hour target performance was 87.26%. This is compared to 89.17% overall for June. The July performance for the 12 hour target also slightly deteriorated to 133 patients reported (130 in June), with 90 at RGH and 43 at PCH. The July performance for emergency ambulance services against the 15 minute handover target was 87.0%. This compares with 87.9% for June
- Referral to Treatment Times (RTT) / Diagnostic waits
The reported RTT position for July is that no patients in Cwm Taf waited over 52 weeks and 507 patients were waiting over 36 weeks. The Board recognised more work needed to be progressed to sustain and improve the level of performance on waiting times achieved last year. Action was also taking place to improve diagnostic waiting times.
The development of the “Our Cwm Taf” portal
In July, Cwm Taf Public Services Board (PSB) launched a new bilingual website: www.ourcwmtaf.wales / www.eincwmtaf.cymru. The website provides a window on the work of the PSB and will be a single source for information about the Cwm Taf area providing consistency and coherence across partner organisations.
A wide range of data is available on the site at national and local authority level as well as the priority areas of working for the PSB. The website will demonstrate how Cwm Taf PSB is working towards the national well-being goals and encourages citizen engagement and participation.
Citizen engagement at the Big Welsh Bite
The annual Big Welsh Bite event was held on the 5th and 6th August in Ynysangharad Park, Pontypridd with large numbers of people coming to meet with health board staff to talk about our campaigns and health services.
The Wellbeing Zone marquee included over 40 stands from a wide range of organisations including third sector, local authority and UHB, all with the aim of talking to local people about their health and wellbeing.
As well as promoting many of our initiatives like One Small Change, Beat Flu and Baby Teeth DO Matter, some excellent feedback was collected to help inform our 10 year Clinical Services Strategy, with almost 500 questionnaires completed over the two days. This strategy is important in shaping the longer term vision for health services across Cwm Taf and we were able to showcase some of our existing sites and facilities through virtual reality goggles. More than 50 entries were also received for our children’s art competition with the theme ‘How I stay fit and healthy’.
Annual report from the Director of Public Health
“Everyone has a role to play in improving population health,” according to Cwm Taf’s Director of Public Health Dr Kelechi Nnoaham, in his first annual report.
In order to address some of the ongoing challenges such as inequalities, frailty and obesity the report suggests a number of opportunities for more partnership working including with the Public Services Board (which includes the Health Board, councils, South Wales Police, the Fire and Rescue Service, Natural Resources Wales, the Probation Service, Community Rehabilitation Company and other voluntary councils) as well as by using other vital pieces of policy and legislation. Cwm Taf UHB is developing a long-term vision to improve people’s health and wellbeing which includes:
- Promoting safe and strong communities by developing Community Hub Zones where all public services are placed locally, supporting volunteering, preventing harm to children and working together to make our environments better;
- Helping people live long and healthy lives by tackling obesity and helping people become more physically active, targeting action for our most vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, young children and older people;
- Growing a strong local economy by using money from the City Deal and Metro to create local jobs and better transport, targeting early education, growing tourism in the Valleys and supporting people to develop new skills for employment.
Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW)
A new statutory body within NHS Wales will be created in April 2018 to sit alongside Health Boards and NHS Trusts and will be chaired on an interim based by Cwm Taf’s outgoing chairman Dr Chris Jones.
Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) will be a fully separate entity with its own independent Board and will be responsible for the commissioning and oversight of professional education in the health sector.
It will also be involved in planning for workforce needs in the health sector; maintaining and developing workforce intelligence and information and setting expectations for continuous professional development (CPD) of professionals across NHS Wales.
