What trigger points will the Welsh Government use to identify if the Welsh NHS is coming under pressure this winter?
We will judge success through improvements in the areas that matter most to patients— reduced ambulance patient handover delays, shorter waits in emergency departments, improved hospital flow and safe discharge home when people no longer require hospital care, and patient experience and mortality rates.
To identify emerging winter pressures, we and NHS Wales Performance and Improvement monitor a range of indicators including escalating demand, ambulance handover performance, emergency department waits, bed occupancy, discharge delays and health board escalation status, enabling early action where pressures begin to build.