Mark Drakeford, Minister for Health and Social Services
This was published under the 2011 to 2016 administration of the Welsh Government
In a written statement on May 7, I confirmed my approval of integrated medium term plans for Cardiff and Vale and Cwm Taf university health boards and Velindre NHS Trust. These organisations met the requirements of the NHS Finance (Wales) Act 2014 and the NHS Planning Framework by developing plans which set out how their available resources would be used to address areas of population health need and improve health outcomes; improve the quality of care and ensure best value.
I also indicated in that statement that Abertawe Bro Morgannwg and Aneurin Bevan university health boards needed a period of further work to refine their plans before they could be presented to their respective boards for sign off and to me for consideration.
I am now able to confirm that Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board has a submitted a three-year plan which meets the requirements set out by the NHS Wales Planning Framework and I have therefore approved it.
Aneurin Bevan University Health Board has concluded however that it ought to advance a one-year planning cycle this year, allowing the organisation to further strengthen its financial and service planning work for the medium term before submitting a final version for my consideration in January 2015.
It has, therefore, submitted an annual plan detailing how it will meet key national targets at the same time as strengthening its medium-term plan. Aneurin Bevan University Health Board’s has a strong track record of delivery, which provides confidence the board’s ambitions outlined in its one and the emerging three-year plan will be delivered.
The remaining health boards and NHS trusts – Hywel Dda, Betsi Cadwaladr, Powys, Public Health Wales and the Welsh Ambulance Service –all have annual plans in place. The reasons why each organisation is in an one-year planning cycle were set out in my statement on May 7.
In line with the NHS Wales Planning Framework, Welsh Government officials will subject each organisation to an increased level of scrutiny and support to ensure a focus on quality, service and financial delivery this year, at the same time as each organisation continues to work on and strengthen their medium-term plans.
Taken together, these decisions demonstrate the necessary rigour in putting into place the arrangements set out in the NHS Wales Planning Framework and the NHS Finance (Wales) Act 2014. Progress has been made as three-year planning arrangements mature within NHS organisations.
The Finance Minister and I will work together over the summer to determine what support can be provided to support new models of service delivery, which strengthen the care provided in local communities, as outlined in health boards’ plans. This work will be carried out in the context outlined in the Nuffield Trust report, A Decade of Austerity for Wales? The funding pressures facing the NHS in Wales to 2025-26.