Do you have an idea that could make a difference to planned care services in Wales?
Funding and supporting planned care innovation projects from across Wales to develop, apply and test new ways of working to transform planned care services.
Background and context
For the purpose of the Planned Care Innovation Programme, the term planned care is defined by the Welsh Government (2021) as: “Any treatment that doesn’t happen as an emergency and usually involves a prearranged appointment.”
Pressures from the Covid-19 pandemic have added to the challenges already facing the delivery of planned care services across Wales, which include a growing treatment backlog and increasing patient waiting times. This is placing significant strain on health and care services as a whole and is likely to have detrimental effects on population health and wellbeing in the long-term, if issues remain unresolved.
This highlights the need to rebalance capacity and demand for elective services across NHS Wales, suggesting an urgent requirement for significant transformational change both in the community and across health and social care systems. This will ensure the future quality and sustainability of planned care services and support their ability to positively impact upon the health and wellbeing of people in Wales.
This urgent need for transformation across the broad spectrum of planned care and other related services in Wales is recognised in the national policy arena and is a central aspect of both the Welsh Government’s Programme for Planned Care and NHS Wales Outpatients Strategy. The need for sustainable, collaborative and transformational change across the health and social care system as a whole is also recognised in the ambitions of ‘A Healthier Wales’, the Welsh Government’s long-term plan for health and social care.
Developing innovative and sustainable ways of working within and across community, primary, secondary and tertiary care services, as well as social care, local government and the third sector, will play a significant role in supporting the ambitions of The National Programme for Planned Care, The NHS Wales Outpatients Strategy and The Welsh Government’s A Healthier Wales Strategy.
Apply by 15 February 2022
