Will the Minister outline the difference between a national strategic clinical network and a national programme in the context of forming the NHS Executive and a new strategic health governance structure?
The NHS Executive is still in development and the national programmes it will contain are not yet finalised. Any national programmes will reflect the main service challenges facing the NHS in Wales and the requirement for the NHS Executive to provide national direction to the NHS in Wales to achieve sustainable, high quality health services.
Clinical networks will work across these programmes within the NHS Executive, focusing on providing clinical expertise – particularly in terms of developing nationally agreed clinical pathways and using data to compare services. The list of clinical networks that will form part of the NHS Executive is also under development and is due to complete by April 2023. There is still work to be done to determine which strategic service areas are supported by national programmes and which conditions that account for a large proportion of population ill-health are reflected by national clinical networks.