May 20, 2020 - 1602 views
The independent health services watchdog for North Wales – the North Wales Community Health Council (NWCHC) – has formally released its report about people’s experiences of vascular services in the region.
Following a number of major changes made to the service in March 2019, the NWCHC hosted a series of events across all six counties of North Wales, from November 2019 to March 2020.
During the watchdog’s ‘safe space’ events, NHS staff, patients, their carers and families, shared experiences of how they had been affected by the changes to the provision of vascular services.
Mr Geoff Ryall-Harvey, Chief Officer for NWCHC said ‘Since the changes were made to the Vascular Service, we have been monitoring the patient experience of the service. We became aware of an increased level of concerns in respect of the impact of the service change.’
‘We raised these concerns with the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) and are pleased that the BCUHB has now carried out a review of the performance of the service and the impact of the changes made to the service to date.’
Mr Ryall-Harvey went on to say, ‘Our final report will now ensure that the voice of the patient forms an integral part of the overall service review. The full report will be considered at the Health Board’s Extraordinary meeting on Thursday 21 May 2020.
Peter Rendle, Chair of NWCHC added ‘I am pleased with the success of our ‘Safe Space’ events and that we were able to allow people to share their experiences in a confidential and structured way. We now look forward to finding out how the Health Board will take into consideration the impact of its changes on people’s lives.’
A full copy of the NWCHC report can now be found on its website at
