Swansea Bay University Health Board wins at the NHS Wales Awards 2023
Swansea Bay is celebrating a double success at this year’s prestigious NHS Wales Awards.
A project to redesign the health board’s heart failure service was one of the winners, along with a community-based service that helps people with complex health and well-being needs – while taking pressure off GPs.
The heart failure redesign project –Not Accepting Failure – won in the Delivering Higher Value Health and Care category.
Heart failure occurs at the end stage of all cardiovascular disease, affecting up to two per cent of the population.
It means the heart is unable to pump blood around the body, with symptoms including breathlessness, tiredness, feeling lightheaded or fainting, and swollen ankles or legs. It can lead to hospital admission.
Swansea Bay University Health Board launched a project to redesign and develop its entire heart failure service.
Managed by the Value Based Health Care Team, it involved clinicians, service managers and finance teams who identified four essential aspects to a heart failure service.
As a result, a heart failure hub was established in Gorseinon Hospital, delivering a daily diagnostic heart failure clinic.
A community heart failure service also encouraged integrated working between hospital and community teams, while an extremely successful rapid access diagnostic heart failure clinic was launched in 2020.
The second winner, this time in the Delivering Person-Centred Services category, was Cwmtawe Cluster for its Cwmtawe Pathway Service.
This supports people with struggling with mental health, substance misuse, domestic abuse, including sexual violence. Support can also extend to family members affected by these issues.
It was introduced in 2021 after mental health, domestic abuse and substance misuse were identified as three areas where the cluster – which covers Morriston, Clydach and Llansamlet - wanted to provide additional services.
The service has resulted in a 60 per cent reduction in the demand on GPs, as well as a 98 per cent increase in patients having improved access to other sources of support.
The NHS Wales Awards were presented to the teams behind the winning projects at a virtual ceremony.
Director General for Health and Social Services and NHS Wales Chief Executive, Judith Pagett, said: “I want to thank all of our inspirational finalists and offer my heartfelt congratulations to the winners.
“We value your outstanding improvement work more than ever, at a time where hard decisions are having to be made, to prioritise patient care.
“It’s important to take the time to showcase what you have been working so hard on so that we can celebrate your achievements and also learn from each other. I look forward to seeing how your work develops so that we can help to transform health and care even further.”
This year’s awards were sponsored by Simply Do and Health and Care Research Wales.
Go here to read our previous press release on the Cwmtawe Pathway Service.
Go here to read our pervious press release on the Heart Failure Service.
Go here for full details of the NHS Award winners and finalists on the Public Health Wales website.
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