“The Welsh NHS is helping people live healthier lives” – Vaughan Gething

Fewer people in Wales are dying and more are surviving conditions such as cancer, diabetes, stroke and heart disease thanks to action taken by the Welsh Government and NHS Wales to improve services, Deputy Health Minister Vaughan Gething has said.

The Deputy Minister said the Welsh NHS is helping people to live healthier lives with the development of new services and record levels of investment from the Welsh Government, and praised the quality of care being delivered by doctors, nurses and NHS staff across Wales.

The Welsh Government’s health strategy, Together for Health, published in 2011, set a five-year vision for the Welsh NHS and its partners, including the creation of delivery plans for major health conditions.

The delivery plans have been developed by clinicians, patients and advocates for excellent care. They outline actions to improve services, with a particular focus on prevention and early diagnosis, integrated and efficient care, better information and targeted research.

In June 2015, Ministers announced £10m would be invested directly in the plans – £1m for each of the 10 plans – which has been used to improve services for people in Wales.

Successes include:

• Fewer people are dying from cancer – between 2004 and 2014, there has been a reduction in cancer mortality of around 10% in Wales. For the first time, five-year survival has reached 50% and one-year survival 70%;
• The number of diabetes-related deaths is falling and there has been a reduction in emergency admissions related to diabetes;
• Stroke survival is improving in Wales – there has been an increase of almost 500 stroke survivors over the last five years;
• The number of deaths from neurological conditions is below that of the other countries in the UK;
• Fewer people are dying from heart disease – more than 8,000 fewer patients have been treated for coronary heart disease over the last five years as incidence rates fall;
• Survival rates for people treated in critical care units in Wales are improving – 83% of people were discharged to another ward in 2014-15, up from 79% in 2011-12;
• 93% of people who responded to the iWantGreatCare feedback survey (2014-15) about specialist end-of-life palliative care in Wales were positive. The average Welsh score was 9.5 out of 10;
• More than 88,000 people have been assessed and almost 48,000 have started a therapeutic intervention in Wales’ new local primary care mental health support services between April 2013 and December 2015.

Vaughan Gething said:

“In 2011, we made a commitment to the people of Wales that we would improve the quality of healthcare people receive, delivering the best quality care in the right place, at the right time, by the right professional.

“Thanks to record levels of investment in our health service and to the dedication and professionalism of our doctors, nurses and other health service staff, more people are surviving conditions such as cancer, stoke, heart disease and diabetes.

“We know there’s still much more we need to do to improve waiting times for patients, but one thing is clear – the NHS in Wales is helping people live longer, healthier lives.”