Assembly Committee calls for clear timetable for the further improvement of stroke services in Wales
9 January 2014
A clear timetable is needed which sets out how the Welsh Government will go about further improving stroke services in Wales, according to a National Assembly for Wales Committee.
The Health and Social Care Committee found that a number of the recommendations from a report it published two years ago still had not been fully implemented even though the Welsh Government had agreed with them, at least in principle.
Key issues identified during the Committee’s 2011 inquiry included:
concerns around the implementation, leadership, management and monitoring of the Stroke Risk Reduction Action Plan;
a need for an improved emphasis on preventing strokes following a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) or initial stroke;
a clear need for improvements in the identification and treatment of atrial fibrillation; and
a greater need for professional and public awareness of stroke and its causes.
In its follow-up inquiry the Committee determined that progress in a number of these areas had been slow and inconsistent across different health boards.
In a letter to the Health and Social Services Minister, Mark Drakeford AM, the Committee recommends the Welsh Government publishes a timetable within six weeks clearly setting out when it expects to fully deliver on the earlier recommendations.
“The Committee has drawn attention to what it sees as insufficient progress in implementing some of the recommendations” said David Rees AM, Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee.
“The Minister acknowledged that there has been a lack of progress in some areas and this is why we are now calling for a clear timetable which sets out when the Welsh Government expects delivery of our recommendations to be completed.
“I am paraphrasing the findings of the report the Committee published two years ago by saying that the human and financial cost of stroke is huge and it impacts on families across Wales.
“There is now a golden opportunity for the Welsh Government to enhance its National Stroke Delivery Plan to reduce the risk of stroke and ensure high quality and consistent services across the country.”
More information about the Health and Social Care Committee can be found here