Written question WQ93447

I have clearly set out my expectations to Aneurin Bevan University Health Board about the quality and timeliness of care which needs to be delivered to people accessing care in its emergency departments. This includes a focus on reducing long ambulance handovers and the time spent by people in the emergency department, as well as improving quality and safety of care.

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board is in level three (enhanced monitoring) for performance and outcomes relating to urgent and emergency care at the Grange University Hospital.

Welsh Government officials have agreed an escalation framework that clearly identifies where improvements are expected to be delivered. We hold regular performance management meetings with the health board to appraise progress and seek assurance about further action where progress has not been made.

We have provided the health board with an additional £6m in Six Goals programme funding over the last two years to drive improvements in urgent and emergency care and it will receive a further £2.7m this year. This funding has been used to develop new services and recruit key clinical leadership to oversee the local programme plan.

The national support has enabled the health board to develop and deliver its local Six Goals programme plan, which includes new interventions to improve patient flow and reduce pressure on the emergency department; the development of urgent primary care centres at the Royal Gwent and Nevill Hall hospitals to better manage urgent care away from the Grange site and same day emergency care services at the Grange and Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr to help people bypass the emergency department, when appropriate.

We have also allocated an extra £300,000 to the health board to deliver a new e-triage tool at the Grange which will enable rapid self-triage to improve experience and identification of people who need early assessment. This will be considered for wider roll-out across Wales subject to a robust evaluation.

The Gwent Regional Partnership Board has been allocated £27.2m this year and Aneurin Bevan University Health Board will receive a share of Further Faster and allied health professional funding. These funding streams are intended to either safely support fewer people to access services at the Grange or improve flow through the system, helping to free capacity in the emergency department.

Finally, following consideration of a business case submitted by the health board, we have provided £14m to support the expansion of the emergency department. Improvements are expected to be completed by spring 2025.