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27th September 2023

Bevan Commission Supports 17 Successful Innovation Projects in Planned Care

Building upon the Bevan Commission’s Exemplar Programme, the Welsh Government has granted funds to enable the Bevan Commission support 17 pioneering planned care innovation projects in Wales.

These projects, supported by the Bevan Commission’s Planned Care Innovation Programme span diverse specialties, including urology, ophthalmology, and diagnostics.

The projects will be shared at the Planned Care Innovation Programme National Showcase on 20th September at Swansea’s National Waterfront Museum. These projects have all demonstrated financial benefit and made improvements to patient care and are now ready to be scaled and adopted at a national level.

Introduced in April 2022, the Planned Care Innovation Programme was launched to address the challenges created and exacerbated by Covid-19. Collaborating with the Welsh Government and other stakeholders, the Planned Care Innovation Programme’s primary focus has been to reducing waiting times, provide top-quality care for all patients, and use existing resources more effectively and carefully.

Project outcomes include:

  • Proof of feasibility to provide urgent X-Rays for certain patients in the home.
  • A point-of-care test that can be utilised in primary care to diagnose urinary tract infections more rapidly and precisely.
  • Reduced secondary care waits for certain patients in ophthalmology, gastroenterology and paediatric orthopaedics using advanced practitioner clinics to support consultant workloads.
  • A Wellness Improvement Service improving outcomes and support for people living with chronic conditions and/or waiting for treatment to help them stay/live well.
  • The introduction of Perioperative Outpatient Screening Clinics with improved outcomes for patients deemed to be frail and waiting for surgery, such as medical optimisation and shared decision-making about whether surgery is right for them.
  • A First for Wales Genicular Artery Embolization procedure trialled with early clinical data suggesting suitability for its use in the management of certain knee conditions.
  • A national framework and delivery mechanism for providing a Colon Capsule Endoscopy (camera in a pill that can be swallowed) service to certain patients waiting for colon endoscopy.
  • Improved pathways of care for patients waiting for radiology investigations and children’s speech and language therapy, resulting in reduced waiting times, improved patient experience and increased clinical/diagnostic capacity.
  • A successful trial of using remote wearable technology for children’s weight management services, improving access to clinicians as well as freeing up their capacity, increasing data capture and negating the need for time missed from school to attend appointments.
  • An all-Wales data platform and resource bank to support GPs and their patients with neurological symptoms.

For more information about the projects please visit: https://www.bevancommission.org/programmes/planned-care/