Health minister says NHS “under strain like never before”

The NHS has this week marked its 75th anniversary – but reforms are needed if it is to reach its centenary, Wales’ health minister has warned.

Speaking at the Bevan Commission NHS 75 Conference, Eluned Morgan said the NHS was “under strain like never before” and “demand for services is greater than ever”.

Part of that increased demand comes from the fact people are living longer today than they were in 1948.

Mrs Morgan said: “We are going to have to ask difficult questions about how we bring about this change and adapt to continuing pressures.

“The health care needs of Wales have changed. We want the public and healthcare workers to work together to create a system where everyone understands their responsibilities.”

She highlighted issues such as addressing “workforce issues” and “focusing on what is in the best interest for the patient” as being important, as well as moving care out of hospitals and into the community.

Mrs Morgan continued: “We will also have to take far more seriously our responsibility to try and stay fit and healthy and manage our own health and wellbeing where possible.

“We need people, the NHS and wider society to work together to make a healthier lifestyle accessible for everyone, If we don’t – we know that really difficult decisions will need to be made in terms of what services will be available in future.”

According to the Welsh Government, current projections suggest the number of people diagnosed with cancer in Wales will rise from almost 20,000 a year between 2017 and 2019 to almost 25,000 by 2040.

The prevalence of Type 2 diabetes is also expected to reach 17% of the Welsh population by 2035.

During her speech, the minister also announced the creation of an independent group to review the governance and accountability within the NHS and to determine whether they are fit for the future.

“We need an open and honest conversation with the public”

Responding to the minister’s speech, Nesta Lloyd-Jones, who is the assistant director of the Welsh NHS Confederation, called on the Welsh Government to hold a “national conversation” on how the health care system can be transformed for future generations.

“We need an open and honest conversation with the public about what the future health and care service looks like.

“This must be centred on an NHS that is adequately and sustainably funded, an NHS that is taking care and prevention to people and their communities, an NHS that empowers and enables, and one that benefits from improving public health.”

Ms Lloyd-Jones said the “challenge now is to use the historic moment of the NHS turning 75 to unite behind a shared vision of the NHS’s future”.

She continued: “It is for the population and all sectors across Wales to ask what they can do to support the health and wellbeing of people now and in the future.

“Change must happen, it’s simply not an option to stay as we are – we need to think about the future now and what part we need to play in that future.”?