Labour leadership race — By Daran Hill on October 30, 2009 3:25 pm
“IT’S TIME to get real on health” says Carwyn Jones today as he launches another policy platform. So here comes another policy comparison piece from WalesHome.org.
As Mrs Hart is our Health Minister, seems only fair to give her first shout on this one though. Her manifesto document points to her own record as Health Minister which “demonstrates both a willingness to bring about structural reform when needed, and to implement complex change successfully.” She also points to her achievements in working “across the current Labour-Plaid coalition to secure agreement to abolishing the internal market, removing use of the private sector and putting power and responsibility in the hands of ward sisters and other front line staff.” As Health Minister, Edwina of course recommits to the content of the One Wales agreement as the core plan for health in Wales until 2011. Above this, specific pledges and ideas in her manifesto are:
Redesign the relationship between users of services and those who provide them on the basis of co-production: that users and providers of services will work together, jointly, on securing best outcomes;
Community Health Councils are being given new powers and made more effective.
Wales is simply too small to sustain wholly separate public services in local government, the civil service, the health service, in higher education and so on. We need a far more permeable set of boundaries between these organisations, so that workers in the Welsh public service can move between them, contributing to the Welsh way of maximising the advantage we have as a small, clever country in which we all work together for the benefit of us all.
During this autumn, I am hopeful that responsibility for primary and community health services in Powys, which is currently held at the centre, will transfer to Powys County Council. I have pursued this policy because I believe that the circumstances of that part of Wales mean that the power to direct health and social services should be combined at the local level;
Support the Welsh Health Environmental Forum to act as a central forum for the NHS in Wales where ideas, actions and good practice are shared between NHS Trusts and to act as a central point of contact;
Invest £190 million in public health and health improvement through the Public Health Strategic Framework for Wales, Our Healthy Future;
Put sustainable development at the core of the restructured NHS in all it does.
Carwyn Jones has unveiled his health programme with a message of focussing “on the issues that matter to ordinary people – continually improving healthcare, with better access to GP services, and working with staff and their unions to improve areas like the Ambulance service. I want to deliver more convenient services for patients – making access easier, enabling patients to see their GPs in the evenings and at weekends, and make it possible to book an appointment online. I want to see GPs surgeries to be electronically linked to hospitals – for Wales to learn from the e-referral system currently operating in Scotland.” Some of the headline pledges which he makes contain implicit criticism of the incumbent Minister. For example:
“Health professionals tell me that our systems for scrutiny of capital investment are slowing down investment decisions. I will lead a programme to cut through the bureaucracy.” Which begs the question, does he think this has not been a priority until now.
Borders will not be a barrier when it comes to offering patients access to the best healthcare the NHS can provide. He makes the point this is particularly true in North Wales, where Edwina Hart’s earlier decision was re-route neurosurgery to South Wales rather than across the border was particularly controversial.
“The health service in Wales has been through substantial re-organisation. Too frequent re-organisation damages staff morale and reduces operational effectiveness. Decisions in health must be carefully thought through. I will not introduce wholesale re-organisation on my watch, but work with staff and unions in the interest of patients.” Another direct challenge to the priorities of the current Minister?
Other pledges contained within Carwyn’s policy statement are:
Reward NHS staff for implementing new ideas and developing an all-Wales innovation team to spread good practice;
Re-focus ways of tackling diagnostic waits to speed up treatment, and ensure hospital operating theatres are used at weekends in more places to make the best use of our investments;
Deliver solutions to the Ambulance Service problems through working with staff and their unions;
Have more focus on tackling delayed discharges of care. Elderly people in particular are frustrated at being kept in hospital because the care services are not in place at home. Equally, people should not be kept unnecessarily in hospital for tests if they are fit enough to leave – they should not lose their place on the waiting list as a result;
Initiate a review of residential care for older people to try and reduce the real concerns that families have in paying for care costs;
Take action to implement our commitment to develop not-for-profit nursing homes;
Have a higher priority for mental health services, which are particularly important during an economic crisis as the pressures of stress at work and unemployment come into focus; and
Deliver faster response times to emergencies, including proper investment in the Air Ambulance service.
Huw Lewis also has a manifesto chapter on health, in which he praises “Our new hospitals, GP surgeries and health centres (which) provide a visible manifestation of Welsh Labour’s commitment to our NHS. After decades of Tory neglect, the transformation has been remarkable. We now have an NHS that is stronger and better funded than ever before.” He makes the following specific pledges:
Recognising that mental health issues account for over 40% of sickness absence in Wales, we must also revisit our whole approach in this area and look again at the provision of “talking therapies”.
We need to build a people’s NHS. An NHS that is agile, responsive and able to adapt to the shifting needs and expectations of the Welsh public. We should use targets cleverly – ensuring they are complemented with local solutions and do not prevent staff on the ground from getting on with their job.
We have made sensible changes to the structure of our health service in Wales, and it makes sense for Ministers to take direct responsibility for the NHS. But at the same time, we should try to build a permanent, two-way relationship between the drivers and deliverers of change.
Commit to a renewed and relentless focus on patient outcomes and build a people’s NHS, responsive to shifting public expectations and able to adapt to the demands of a changing Wales.
Deliver sustained improvements in the Welsh Ambulance Service so that it becomes the world-class service we all deserve.
Open a new front on waiting times, ensuring there are no hidden waits for treatment. Unlike a Tory-run NHS, there will be a service there for everyone, free at the point of use for all.
Tags: Carwyn Jones, Edwina Hart, health, Huw Lewis, Labour leadership race
Tweet This
Share on Facebook
Digg This
Bookmark
Stumble
0 Comments
You can be the first one to leave a comment.