'Welsh Government must support further roll-out of BCUHB care initiatives'

Sam Moqadam on Unsplash

Janet Finch-Saunders MS – the Member of the Welsh Parliament for Aberconwy – has welcomed the opening of the new Post Anaesthesia Care Unit (PACU) at Ysbyty Gwynedd, urging the Welsh Government to support similar such initiatives across North Wales to help address lengthy waiting times and the looming patient backlog. 

The PACU is an overnight service run by members of the hospital’s theatre team, designed for patients who require enhanced care following their operation. The unit is a theatre led initiative and has received positive feedback from patients since it opened towards the end of December. 

Underlining the need for Welsh Government support so that similar such Units can open across the region, Janet said:  

“I warmly welcome this fantastic initiative by BCUHB, which should help to decrease the number of surgical cancellations when there are no specialised beds available. This Unit is a sensible and efficient solution to help address the compounded pressures of the usual busy winter months and COVID-19. 

“The new PACU will ensure that fewer patients will need to have their operation rescheduled, enabling them to recover after their surgery in this ward until an appropriate bed becomes available. I congratulate the theatre team who have worked tirelessly to get this initiative up and running. 

“I now call on the Welsh Government to give all necessary support to BCUHB to ensure that similar such innovations can be rolled out across the Board’s facilities. Coronavirus has exacerbated an entrenched waiting time issue – something that requires an urgent and effective response. 

“Due to understandable pressures on our healthcare workers, some treatments have been placed on a holding pattern, with the Welsh Health Minister admitting that the backlog could take a full Parliamentary term to address. This is a crisis that is hitting locally, with just 48.7% of patients waiting fewer than 26 weeks in November 2020 to receive treatment. 

“With constituents contacting me about the knock-on impact of these delays, I should like to see the Welsh Government support the creation of specialised non-Covid wards to assist with the local resumption of essential services, such as cancer treatments.  

“The cancer treatment figures remain a longstanding concern for many local residents. Across Wales, just 4,913 patients started treatment in April 2020. Currently, 63.5% out of 11,717 patients are being seen within 62 days on the Single Cancer Pathway. Specialised non-Covid wards would assist here. 

“I remain committed to the implementation of a long-term improvement plan, ramping up capacity in Covid-free wards so we can get back on top of treatments. By supporting the further creation of such PACUs, this should  help to address prolonged waiting times, in the here and now, ensuring that patients aren't left waiting in unnecessary agony or anxiety.”  

ENDS 

Notes for Editors:  

Photo: Sam Moqadam on Unsplash

You may also be interested in