A series of events to discuss our tough choices for health and care in Wales 2021 and beyond.
What will you do differently?
This the question the Commission has been asking a range of people across Wales as part of an important programme of work looking at the tough choices ahead for health and care in Wales as it continues to respond to, recover from and refocus after Covid-19.
We know from detailed research we’ve carried out that there are huge challenges ahead including the rise in waiting times, tackling the backlog, deciding which care is given to whom and when, and the socio-economic impact on health and wellbeing.
We’ve reached out to engage with health and social care professionals, third sector, politicians, patients, the media and the public for a series of online events to socialise the issues facing health and care and discuss ideas and solutions for the future.
Our series of discussion events held throughout 2021 bring together health and care leaders and representatives with clinicians, front line staff, managers, patients and the public.
Delivered in partnership with the Welsh NHS Confederation, the Institute of Welsh Affairs, Social Care Wales and the Board of Community Health Councils Wales.
International perspectives
Sharing perspectives from Wales, the USA, Italy, Spain and New Zealand on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, how different countries are recovering and re-setting and what this means for Wales.
The Doing Things Differently series has raised awareness and facilitated an important discussion about the challenges ahead, and the need for change, which will inform our future work. We will now be considering and evaluating the discussions and feedback, and will produce an initial report.
Working closely with our partners
We’re delivering this series of events in partnership with the Institute of Welsh Affairs, the Welsh NHS Confederation, Social Care Wales and the Community Health Councils in Wales
Enabling technology
On October 12, we brought together a panel of digital health and care leaders with an online audience to debate the challenges digital technology can bring as well as the benefits. It considered how successful digital innovations were delivered during the pandemic at pace and how this can be built on, as well as considering how to enable the public to access, understand and embrace new technologies.
Manifesto commitments
Ahead of the Senedd election, the fifth event of the series on March 4 invited the health and care spokespeople from each of the political parties in Wales – Vaughan Gething MS, Angela Burns MS and Rhun ap Iorwerth MS – to answer key questions about the difficult decisions to be made and set out their manifesto commitments.
Supply and demand
The February 11 event looked at the key issue of supply and demand and how this impacts all care; primary, secondary and social. It also looked at how we make health and care services more prudent and how we need to do things differently, providing care closer to home.
Tough choices ahead
The first two events on January 26 and 27, focused on how to manage the backlog of care and what services could be transferred from hospitals into the community.
Event one featured a wide range of participants from across health and social care and event two was a discussion with an expert group of clinicians.
The three panel discussion events that followed this featured a range of participants from organisations across Wales and audience questions and comments. Our event on February 4 looked at the wider picture, outside of the NHS itself, that is having a big impact on population health and wellbeing including; unemployment, poverty, inequality, social care and mental health.
