Health and social care revolution required in Wales

An expert panel have warned that a ‘revolution’ in the way health and social care is delivered in Wales is urgently needed to prevent further decline of services.

Nine leading international experts, chaired by the former chief medical officer for Wales Dr Ruth Hussey, have been looking at ways to try to put the health and social care system on a stronger footing and say that ‘significantly accelerated’ change is necessary.

The proposals to come from the review, which the government has said it will take into account when publishing its long-term health and social care plan, include plans to shift resources away from big hospitals, investing in new technology and giving patients more choice about how and where they want to be cared for.

With too large a focus on narrow hospital targets, the panel also warns that without faster and ‘more widespread progress’, access to and the quality of services could decline in the next five years.

Hussey said: “The scale of the challenge ahead should not be underestimated. It is clear that change is needed and even clearer that this should happen quickly. We have detected an appetite for change and a desire to ‘get on with it’. A strong commitment to transform not just how much is done, but what and how it is delivered is needed. We hope that this report will be a catalyst for the action that is needed, and help to guide the future of health and social care in Wales.”