Covid NHS recovery plan announced for 'exhausted' staff

A £100m recovery plan to help the NHS recover from the pandemic has been announced by the Welsh government.

The plan details the impact of Covid-19 on the NHS and aims to rebuild services and reduce waiting times.

Record numbers of patients are waiting for hospital treatment after many faced cancellations and delays as "exhausted" healthcare staff tackled the pandemic.

Health Minister Vaughan Gething said it would still be "a long journey" to recovery.

NHS Wales chief executive Dr Andrew Goodall said there was an "opportunity to change for the better".

But he warned staff were exhausted, and tackling waiting lists could take five years.

Writing in the recovery plan, Dr Goodall said the response to the pandemic had "been nothing short of incredible".

"The NHS, and all of its social care partners including the independent and third sectors, have demonstrated their ability to do things at scale and pace," he said.

Dr Goodall said the pandemic showed how technology and greater collaboration presented opportunities to improve the way the health and care system worked in future.

The document details the health inequalities which have been highlighted by the pandemic, including the impact on BAME communities and children who live in areas of social deprivation.

It said the recovery of services must include a focus on children's mental health, as well as practical actions to address racial inequality.

It also includes the publication of new quality statements, which set out in more detail the outcomes that should be expected for cancer and heart conditions.

Demand on cancer services reduced during the pandemic, with fewer people going to see their GP with concerns about symptoms.

In the 10 months to December 2020, about 30,000 fewer people than expected in Wales were identified with suspected cancers - about 18% lower than the same period in 2019.

Doctors fear people were reluctant to come forward with symptoms because of the pandemic.

The document said more would be done to encourage people to come forward, and it will develop the quality statement for cancer to address longer-term challenges.

The Wales Cancer Alliance said: "Wales could soon be the only UK nation without a cancer strategy, with the Welsh government opting to publish a brief quality statement... instead of replacing its detailed cancer plan.

"This is despite stark and repeated warnings from the 20 charities in the Wales Cancer Alliance coalition that the statement does not go far enough.

"While the alliance welcomes the NHS Covid recovery plan, also published today by the Welsh government, this plan covers the immediate recovery from the pandemic and does not have the long-term vision in cancer services Wales needs."

The recovery plan said there was a "fundamental need" to change the way planned services were delivered and in order to tackle the backlog of treatments it said interim measures would require working with "partner organisations who can provide capacity quickly."

Other priorities noted in the recovery plan include identifying the "hidden harms" caused by Covid in the social care sector, increasing the collaborative working that has developed during the pandemic and recognising carers through pay, including a move towards paying the real living wage.

It also highlights the need to expand diagnostic services such as endoscopy.

Dr Olwen Williams, vice-president for Wales at the Royal College of Physicians, said supporting the mental health and well-being of NHS staff was important.

"If there's one lesson we should learn from the past year, it's that we must value our staff," she said.

"They have poured heart and soul into patient care during Covid-19, and they deserve compassionate leadership.

"This recovery plan must be backed up by action from health boards. Investment in more staff, flexible working, protected time for research and education - these things are vital."

Mr Gething said: "The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on our health and social care system, patients and staff.

"As we emerge from the most serious stage of the pandemic, we are now in a position to set out how we can start to recover.

"This plan sets out the broad principles of recovery and more detailed actions will follow. I am making available an initial £100m now to support the first steps, but it is clear more resources will be needed to make a full recovery.

"It will be a long journey, but it is also an opportunity to transform how we deliver health and care services in the future and to tackle the health inequalities in our society that the pandemic has made even more evident.

"That is why, alongside our recovery plan, I am also pleased to announce our national clinical framework, which sets out how we see NHS clinical services developing over the next decade."

Welsh Conservative health spokeswoman Angela Burns said Labour's past "broad approaches" had failed to "deliver the improvements we need to see for our people and public services in Wales".

"Before the pandemic struck, waiting lists were already incredibly high, having doubled in the year before the pandemic hit.

"Now, one in five people in Wales sit on a waiting list, which is another public health crisis.

"Regrettably, there is still a gaping hole in dealing with the cancer backlog and Welsh Conservatives would implement a cancer recovery plan as a matter of urgency."

Plaid Cymru's health spokesman, Rhun ap Iorwerth, said any plans that focused solely on "recovery from the pandemic" overlooked two decades of "managed decline".

He said healthcare in Wales needed to be "completely transformed", adding Plaid would recruit 1,000 doctors and 5,000 nurses and that care workers, would be "given the same terms and conditions and pay scales as health workers".

"Our cancer plan will speed up diagnosis and treatment, young people will be supported with their mental health and wellbeing through a network of youth welfare hubs," he added.

"Our NHS has to be rebuilt in a way that makes it more robust than ever."