Hywel Dda health board making improvements under new leadership
Bwrdd iechyd Hywel Dda yn gwneud gwelliannau o dan arweinyddiaeth newydd
Improvements in waiting times and the leadership of Hywel Dda University Health Board have been recognised by the Welsh Government.
Health Secretary Jeremy Miles has confirmed that Hywel Dda UHB will be de-escalated from level four to level three for its improved leadership, planned care performance and improvements in its children and adolescent mental health services.
This means the health board will continue to receive support from the Welsh Government and NHS Executive to improve services but will be subject to less intensive oversight and monitoring.
However, the health board will remain at escalation level four for the emergency care performance and finance and planning.
Where there are concerns about the performance of any NHS Wales organisation, the Welsh Government can intervene to provide support to improve services and patient care.
Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Jeremy Miles said:
“New leadership at Hywel Dda University Health Board has brought stability and direction to the board, and following these improvements, I am pleased to de-escalate the board to level three for leadership and governance.
“I want to thank all the staff working hard to improve their services and outcomes for the thousands of people they care for.
“While progress is encouraging, we will continue to monitor the performance and outcomes of the emergency departments and work closely with all the health boards to improve performance.”
Notes to editors
The oversight and escalation framework sets out how performance is reviewed, and risk is assessed across the NHS.
There are currently five levels of escalation.
- Level 1 (routine arrangements) - organisation or service is not in an escalated status.
- Level 2 (Area of concern) - this is not a formal level of escalation.
- Level 3 (enhanced monitoring) - Welsh Government will closely monitor, challenge and review progress against the agreed criteria.
- Level 4 (targeted Intervention) - Welsh Government will take co-ordinated action and direct intervention to support the NHS organisation to drive improvement.
- Level 5 (special measures) - Welsh Ministers may intervene as set out in the NHS (Wales) Act 2006. This may include providing targeted support, suspending or removing powers and duties from individual or all members of the NHS organisation’s board.
To be considered for de-escalation, an organisation must demonstrate that the de-escalation and sustainability criteria have been consistently met. De-escalation will be to the next level on the intervention scale with reduced oversight and reporting at each stage of de-escalation.