RCS responds to extra £15 million for critical care services in Wales
12 Jul 2018
Critical care services in Wales are to receive a new annual £15 million fund, the Health Secretary, Vaughan Gething, has announced today (12 July).
Responding to the news, Mr Tim Havard, Director for Wales at the Royal College of Surgeons, said:
“The Royal College of Surgeons has long been concerned by the lack of critical care capacity in Wales. Wales is one of the lowest ranking countries for critical care bed capacity in Europe.
“When hospitals don’t have enough critical care beds or staff, complex cancer and vascular operations are delayed which is understandably very distressing for the patients involved.
“We welcome the announcement and hope the Welsh Government will now move at pace, so that patients quickly feel the benefit of the extra funding.”
Notes to editors
1. For Wales’s ranking in Europe on critical care beds, see: Welsh Government Annual statement of progress 2017 for the critically ill (2017).
2. The Royal College of Surgeons of England is a professional membership organisation and registered charity, which exists to advance surgical standards and improve patient care.
3. For more information, please contact the RCS Press Office: Telephone: 020 7869 6047; Email: pressoffice@rcseng.ac.uk; For out of hours media enquiries: 07966 486832.