Written question WQ85284
- Asked by
- Altaf HussainConservative
- To be answered by
- Minister for Health and Social Services
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 6 days
Question
When will a detailed plan to rebuild elective orthopaedic services be published?
Answer
Answered by Minister for Health and Social Services
Tackling the backlog of patients that has built up during the pandemic is a key priority for this Government. I published our recovery plan at the end of April, backed by a recurrent allocation of £170m and I have made clear to health boards my expectations around delivery. This includes seeing an increase in activity to pre-pandemic levels. During March, inpatient and daycase activity for all specialities was at 80% of the pre-pandemic levels, whilst for outpatients, it was already higher than pre-pandemic levels.
I expect to see further increases in activity levels as the number of Covid-related patients in hospital continues to reduce.
The National Orthopaedic Board recently commissioned the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) team to carry out a review of orthopaedic services across Wales. The orthopaedic board is in the process of completing a blueprint for the future of orthopaedic services. This complements the GIRFT work and together they will set out how health boards should approach orthopaedic delivery.