What action is the Minister taking to ensure that non-urgent interventions in podiatry services are properly resourced to reduce the risk of complications for patients?
Essential podiatry services have been delivered continuously through the pandemic and are now providing non-urgent interventions.
In line with our plan for the recovery and reset of NHS services, podiatrists across South Wales regularly monitor and evaluate their services to ensure continuous improvement.
The allied health professions framework Looking Forward Together aims to increase access and quality to services. As part of this programme, podiatry services are transforming across Wales to ensure people receive the highest quality podiatry care.
Prevention and early intervention are an essential part of high-quality podiatry services to reduce the risk of developing complications. We have invested £170m in the recovery and reset of health services and £15m under the Planned Care Programme for health boards to deliver services. Within the recovery plan there is a target to restore waits for therapies (which includes podiatry) to less than 14 weeks by spring 2024.