What happens if we don't change?

Our previous 2018 consultation and our long-term strategy have highlighted the risks to our services if we do not change. If we do nothing, we will not be able to deal with the growing demand for health services, particularly from an aging population with complex health needs, and expectations of modern healthcare provision. Staff shortages, problems recruiting, and pressure on the money available are likely to lead to a situation where local people would face:

• Longer waiting times at Emergency Departments.

• More operations in hospitals being postponed.

• Insufficient hospital beds.

• Missed opportunities to prevent illness or avoid deterioration.

• Worsening infrastructure and technological capability.

• Greater problems being able to recruit and keep appropriate qualified doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals to care for you.

• Fragile services, meaning higher risk of unplanned service change or cuts with the stopping of some services or medical procedures and may mean patients travelling further, even to neighbouring health boards. Most importantly, doing nothing would likely mean:

• Lower safety standards

• Worsening impact on health

• Reduced survival rates

We do not want to see this happen and our strategy seeks to change our services to meet the needs of future generations to come.