EFM POLICY AND STRATEGY IN WALES
biggest backlog and estate risk issues. Another ‘more busy’ slide showed sites with low and high voltage electricity resiliency issues. He added: “We already knew certain sites needed attention, but the heatmaps are great for showing Welsh Government and the Health Boards what the relative positions are, and thus being able to explain why and how we’ve prioritised intervention monies.”
Making public services more ‘joined-up’ On a different note, I asked about progress in Wales with a goal I know applies UK- wide – making public services as ‘joined up’ as possible – such as by better linking health and social care. Stuart Douglas said: “We are trying, and I think COVID made health and social care talk more, which has continued. However, there’s a further challenge about how we approach sharing resources – not just the estate, but across the board. Think about England, with its Integrated Care Systems.” He continued: “In Wales we have a similar models to integrate social care and health, which is good, but there’s much more we could do.” I asked for examples. Stuart Douglas said: “Sharing the estate, looking at how we use it and break down the barriers that exist in – for example – being able to enter a local authority building, plug in a laptop, and continue working as if
in your office. It’s happening to some extent, but we need to push on. People need to understand that when we put up a building (at considerable cost) it exists ‘24/7’, but that – at best – we probably only use it 30% of the week. We can then start properly planning how we use resources better. We’re actively supported in this role by Welsh Government’s inter- agency property forum, Ystadau Cymru.” He highlighted a collaborative opportunity to build a new regional health park in Llantrisant, to focus predominantly on day elective and diagnostic work. He said: “The location is on the M4, and we have the Cwm Taf Morgannwg, Aneurin Bevan, and Cardiff Health Boards collaborating on the plans. The facility should achieve a high throughput, but success will be dependent on ensuring that services on other sites, workforce, and estate, are reconfigured around it to maximise the potential benefits of this project.” The three Health Boards are currently putting together a Strategic Outline Case. He added: “I think it’s very positive that Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council and Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board worked very closely to identify the site – and its opportunities. The next stage will be for the three Health Boards to continue their collaboration and make this a success.”
On the wider healthcare estate
front, I asked if he feels there has been sufficient focus on updating the mental healthcare estate in Wales. He said: “We have several reasonably large projects, at different stages of development. The more advanced one approaching Full Business Case approval is at the Ysbyty Glan Clwyd site in north Wales. It will see the redevelopment of adult and older adult mental health facilities for circa £100 m. Other proposals are being developed for significant investment in the south-east and south-west, but the exact details are yet to be determined. I think there’s a recognition of the need to invest in mental healthcare facilities. Having seen mental health and learning disabilities accommodation, I know that if care is provided in modern facilities, with single en-suite rooms, and the right components to limit ligature risks, and if staff have good sightlines, and service-users access to good therapeutic facilities, they can be a great place. Conversely, in some of the older estate, risk increases, and you then need more staff ‘checking’ patients, rather than being able to treat and work with them.”
Recruitment challenges I next asked Stuart Douglas here what he thought the biggest current challenges were for estates and facilities personnel
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