Welsh Govt on Francis report

We seem to have reached an important turning point in Wales, with a greater focus now on the needs of patients, with a strong focus on dignity and respect, and the ways in which their experiences can be improved and less focus on systems and processes. I particularly welcome the Health Minister’s announcement that, starting immediately, an additional £10m of funding will be available each year to ensure the right staffing levels and range of experience among staff on hospital wards across Wales.

There is already much work underway to improve health services across Wales, but there is still a long way to go and it is vital that we see continued improvements at ward level in patient care and the patient experience.I have been clear that the needs of patients should be at the heart of the way that health services across Wales are delivered and that decisions made at board level must reflect what is happening on the ward. Board members must be more accountable for the decisions that they make and the impact that these have on the ways that patients are cared for.

Older people are very clear with me that they understand that things don’t always go right. However, when there are failings there must be accountability, things must be put right and lessons must be learned. When we are at our best in Wales we deliver some truly fantastic, transformational care that makes a huge and positive difference to people’s lives. By learning from things that go wrong, we will ensure that we continuously improve, that we are at our best more often, and deliver safe, effective, dignified and compassionate care to all older people, wherever they live in Wales.

Safe and compassionate care clearly can’t be produced simply by systems and measurements. It depends, fundamentally, on people. Staff are the greatest resource of the NHS and the staffing we need for the future has to match changing patterns of need. Our hospital in-patient population now consists predominantly of older people, often with a complex mixture of social and clinical conditions. The Chief Nursing Officer is leading work to introduce a new way of determining the number of nurses needed on any ward, to meet those needs.

Work so far has concentrated on acute medical and surgical wards. It shows that we need more nurses and healthcare support workers, in order to reach the staffing levels we will need in future.I recognise that meeting these new requirements of the post-Francis world comes at a cost. I am therefore very pleased to announce today that an additional £10 million will be provided in the current financial year, to allow Health Boards to accelerate their plans to secure acute medical and surgical ward nurses.

I welcome this review, which is a step forward in recognising the devastating impact that Labour’s record-breaking NHS cuts are having on frontline NHS services. This review will give the Welsh Government an evidence-based assessment of the needs of the Welsh NHS ahead of the next Budget round, in which Labour has already pencilled in further cuts to the health budget. While we welcome £10million for specialist nurses, it is disappointing that this is not new money and simply being transferred from another part of the health budget.

Day in, day out, the experience of the vast majority of people coming into contact with the NHS in Wales is of care which is dignified and respectful. I want to see a culture of conversation in the health service, where people feel able to voice concerns about care and know they are being heard. Of course, when things don’t happen as they should, we must listen, learn and take action.

Safe, compassionate care is the responsibility of everyone in the health service, from cleaner to Chief Executive. We know that NHS staff in Wales are highly motivated and committed, and we must ensure we have a health service which allows them to get on with their job of providing excellent care.The Francis Inquiry, although undertaken in response to failures outside Wales, offers us the opportunity to look at our health service with a critical eye and ensure we are in the best shape to deliver the safe, compassionate care patients deserve.

We are fortunate to have a leadership workforce motivated to go above and beyond, to do their best for patients as well as their staff. We must foster a culture will enables those in clinical and non-clinical leadership roles to be able to make the positive contribution they desire.

Leaders need to live the values and behaviours that we expect to ensure a culture where all staff know it is normal to be caring and compassionate; to put patients and their families first; to be held to account personally and up to date in all that we each do; to make it easier for patients to have integrated care; to be open and honest with colleagues; to recognise that staff make mistakes and help them to do it right.

And it is not normal to harm people, to ignore concerns or hide things when things go wrong; to assume ‘I know best'. This is our norm.