Five year vision for the NHS

Speaking ahead of an announcement today by the Health Minister about the Welsh Government’s plans for meeting the challenges facing the NHS in Wales, Age Cymru’s Director of Influencing and Programme Development Victoria Lloyd says:

‘As always, the devil will be in the detail, but we believe that change is necessary for the NHS to better meet the needs of the ageing population in Wales.

“There does need to be improvement in community care and the treatment of long-term conditions locally to reduce the need for emergency hospital admission.

"We await with interest the further information of the Welsh government's five-year vision for the NHS.

"Age Cymru would support the idea of more health services being provided in the community, as long as that change does not result in the reduction of support and services currently available for older people, or that  older people are disadvantaged in any way.

"In introducing any such changes, the Welsh Government should place a specific duty on Local Health Boards to ‘age proof’ their policies and services to assess the impact they have on older people.’