Written question WQ82932
- Asked by
- Andrew RT DaviesConservative
- To be answered by
- Minister for Health and Social Services
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 8 days
Question
Will the Minister outline details of a recovery plan to tackle gynaecology backlogs in the Welsh NHS and what milestones local health boards will be working to in order to reduce them?
Answer
Answered by Minister for Health and Social Services
As with all specialities, gynaecology has been affected by the impact of COVID 19.
On 22 March, we published Health and Social Care in Wales COVID 19: Looking Forward, which set out our ambitious but realistic approach to building back our health and care system in Wales.
We clearly demonstrated the scale of the task indicating it would take years to address the backlog in the system. This has been supported by an additional £100 million of funding which has been allocated to health boards and trusts to support the work.
Gynaecology will form part of the recovery plan and all patients waiting will be seen in order of clinical priority, which is a decision made by the consultant, based on Royal College guidelines.
The Welsh Government has funded, via the Women’s Health Implementation Group, a network of pelvic health and wellbeing coordinators in all health boards who act as a first point of contact for women, signpost them to services and support them during their wait for those services. These coordinators are developing community-based pathways involving a range of services including physiotherapy, pain management and psychological support where appropriate.