A Healthier Wales committed us to developing a national clinical plan, which would set out how specialist services and hospital-based services would be provided, together with the skills and technologies needed to support them. As work on its development progressed, the plan evolved into the National Clinical Framework, which encompasses all clinical services provided by the NHS, whether specialist or general.
The National Clinical Framework is underpinned by a suite of quality statements, which set out how we want to see individual clinical services develop and improve over the medium term. They are supported by detailed clinical pathways and service specifications, which will inform NHS delivery.
There are currently almost 70,000 stroke survivors living in Wales, and an estimated 7,400 people experience a stroke each year. More people are surviving stroke, however without further action due to changing demographics, the number of people having a stroke will increase by almost half, and the number of stroke survivors living with disability will increase by a third by 2035. Estimates are that stroke costs Wales £1billion a year, potentially rising to £2.8billion by 2035. The NHS Wales and social care need to work across sectors to develop innovation solutions that best utilise the wealth of expertise out there.
The Health and Social Care (Quality and Engagement) (Wales) Act came into force on 1 April 2023, and aims to strengthen the existing Duty of Quality on NHS bodies and extend it to the Welsh ministers for their health service functions.
In 2018, the Parliamentary Review of Health and Social Care in Wales made several recommendations. These included improving service quality and integration in health and social care. They form key threads in the Welsh Government’s response: 'A Healthier Wales: our Plan for Health and Social Care'. Continuous quality improvement is crucial to making the health and social care system in Wales fit for the future and achieve value.
NHS Wales Performance and Improvement is committed to ensuring a national approach to service improvement throughout its portfolio. Stroke services will collaborate through the Stroke Implementation Network and the Cardiovascular Strategic Network ensuring that innovations and targeted interventions are available across the stroke pathway.