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Country’s healthcare system in a nutshell
Healthcare in Wales is mainly provided by the Welsh public health service, NHS Wales. NHS Wales provides healthcare to all permanent residents which is free at the point of need and paid for from general taxation. Health is a matter that is devolved, and considerable differences are now developing between the public healthcare systems in the different countries of the United Kingdom, collectively the National Health Service (NHS). Though the public system dominates healthcare provision, private healthcare and a wide variety of alternative and complementary treatments are available.
Initially administered by the UK Government, since 1999 NHS Wales has been funded and managed by the Welsh Government.
Public vs private
Unfortunately, we couldn’t find any statistics about healthcare spending in Wales, but only for the UK. If you have access to this information or can put us in touch with someone who has, please contact us at book@patientsknowbest.com
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The national PHR
History
In recent years, NHS Wales' Digital Services for Patients and the Public (DSPP) programme- led by Stephen Frith - has undertaken a significant endeavor: the creation of Wales' own version of the NHS App. This initiative followed the realisation that the NHS App in England did not align with Welsh requirements, particularly as the app needed to be bilingual, but also because of different functionality requirements, including giving wider access to health and care services across Wales.
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On April 17thof 2023, the app started public beta testing: it was published on Apple and Google app stores for download, and it also started to be available at NHS Wales App website (English) and Ap GIG Cymru (Cymraeg). This wasn’t the final version of the app, as new functionalities are being released as soon as they are developed.
Features
At the release date, some app functions, such as in-app access to 111 and organ donation online services, were available to all. Other functions are due to be available later, once a person’s GP practice has enabled the functionality, this is the case of appointment booking, repeat prescription re-ordering, and viewing a summary of a GP health record.
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medicines the GP has prescribed
any allergies or allergic reactions patients have told their GP about
test results from their GP
"My health timeline" which is a collection of all the patient’s health records and events that is searchable by date and record type
"About me and my care" which is a form that helps patients describe their healthcare needs, wishes, and plans
organ and blood donation services information
Challenges and areas for improvement
Published outcomes - statistics
At the beginning of December 2023, the NHS Wales app had:
202 GP practices onboarded (52% of all practices in Wales), with a plan to
onboard the remaining 48% within March 2024Over 50.000 app downloads by patients via App Store or google play store
3169 appointments have been booked through the app
15855 repeat prescriptions have been ordered
48519 GP health records have been viewed
Bibliography
https://www.gov.wales/written-statement-new-nhs-wales-app
Evenstad, L. (30 Mar 2023). Wales is building a dragon of an NHS app. Computerweekly . Available at: https://www.computerweekly.com/news/365534184/The-Welsh-are-building-a-dragon-of-an-NHS-app . (Accessed: 18 December 2023).
Welsh Government. (17 April 2023). Cabinet Statement: Written Statement - The new NHS Wales App, by Eluned Morgan MS, Minister for Health and Social Services. Available at: https://www.gov.wales/written-statement-new-nhs-wales-app . (Accessed: 18 December 2023).
Wikipedia contributors. (2024). Healthcare in Wales. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_Wales. (Accessed: 18 December 2023).