CHC ANNUAL
CONFERENCE
Wednesday 27th June 2012
Andrew Carruthers,
National Director, Together for
Health
Agenda

National Director role

Progress to date

Why now – some perspective

Some closing thoughts
National Director Role




To work with the Director General/Chief
Executive NHS Wales and the NHS Wales Chief
Executives
Focus on delivering the Specific requirement for
Health Boards to develop plans that ensure
sustainable services for NHS Wales – the
service change plans!
Co-ordinating the 3 regional plans and 7 Local
Health Board Plans
Supporting the National Clinical Forum
Progress to date ……….
Hywel Dda/Betsi Cadwaladr
 Engagement/listening programme complete
 Reflecting on feedback to inform formal
consultation development
South Wales Programme
 Complexity and scale of 6 Health Boards
Working Together
 Engagement underway- 4 clinical events held
Progress to date ………. (cont)
National Case for Change Launched in
April 2012:
The Best Configuration of Hospital
Services for Wales: A Review of the
Evidence – Professor Longley
 Service Terminology – a consistent
approach across Wales

Why Now – Some Perspective

Based on his review of evidence:
“Across Wales, some major service re-configuration
is required: some people are facing serious,
unnecessary risks, and parts of the service may
collapse”
Professor Marcus Longley, April 2012
Why Now – Some Perspective
The Golden Jubilee of the DGH
‘Here now is the opportunity to build a hospital service equal to
any in the world and matched, I would think, by very few…
This Plan is nothing less than a plan for the modernisation of our
hospital system… to make clear the sort and size of hospitals
which we ought to have if we are to make the best use of the
specialist techniques of our time, together with the general
practitioner services and the domiciliary services’
Lord Newton, Hansard HL Deb 14 February 1962 vol 237 cc472-581
What has happened since 1962?
1962 –
1965 –
1967 –
1968 –
1969 –
The first hip replacement
Patient monitoring systems
introduced
Colour TV programmes on BBC 2
The first heart transplant
Neil Armstrong landed on the moon
What has happened since 1962?
(cont)
1971 –
1972 –
1973 –
1978 1980 1988 -
Pocket calculator and the floppy disk
CT Scanners Introduced
Personal computers and
handheld mobile phones
First “Test Tube” baby
MRI scanning and laparoscopic
surgery
Breast screening introduced
What has happened since 1962?
(cont)
1990 –
1991 –
1998 2000’s -
20002007 –
2011 -
Day case surgery
World Wide Web
NHS Direct launches
the development of drugs/interventions to
manage cardiac disease (Primary
PCI/Thrombolysis)
Broadband becomes mainstream in UK
Robotic surgical intervention introduced
Technology exists now that enables 3D
printing from a 3D printer
In case you don’t believe me!
A challenge…………..

Is it right that 50 years later, with all the technological
and medical advance there has been in that time, and
the evidence we know exists, that our pattern of hospital
services looks similar?

If in 1962 Enoch Powell had available to him the same
opportunities in terms of health care provision,
treatments, technologies and evidence, would the
Hospital Plan have looked the same?
Making change is never easy…..
It will challenge us all
 Difficult decisions will have to be made:
“Acceptable trade off’s”
(Professor Longley)
 We need to be consistent in our message
 Lose any self interest – the greater good
 Work together closely
 Have strength and resolve

Because it can be done……….
Closing Thoughts
“Services best suited to Wales but
comparable with the best anywhere”
(Bevan Commission)
 The evidence indicates where we need to
look to improve
 We owe it the population (and ourselves!!)
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The real challenge


Is it right that 50 years later, with all the technological and medical
advance there has been in that time, and the evidence we know
exists, that our pattern of hospital services looks similar?
If in 1962 Enoch Powell had available to him the same opportunities
in terms of health care provision, treatments, technologies and
evidence, would the Hospital Plan have looked the same?
More Importantly…………
What will we do?
Thank You
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