The Welsh Government have announced new plans for the winter this year, with a range of specific measures to ensure the health and safety of the public.
In a statement, the Government noted that the NHS have bought flu vaccines centrally for the first time, in the hopes of improving vaccination rates and protecting more people. 99% of community pharmacies now have the right to test and treat sore throat for free, without the need to make an appointment with a GP surgery to lessen the pressure on general practitioners.
The Welsh Government also announced an investment of £30 million to ensure that more people can receive treatment at home, freeing up spaces for patients in the hospital. Also announced was an investment of £1 million in training equipment for care homes, in an attempt to lower the number of older people falling and then needing treatment in hospitals.
There is also assistance for low income families to keep their houses warm, with an investment of £30 million in the Nest Warm Home scheme. There will also be £600,000 invested to support warm welcome centre and £940,000 to support people having trouble with food costs.
In a statement, First Minister Eluned Morgan said:
“Winter is a challenging time for people, especially the most vulnerable, and is a time when our public services already face their greatest pressures. We prepare for winter all-year round, so that the support people need is in place before the colder months arrive.
We’ve seen that in the past month, Wales has moved from drought conditions to flooding, due to increasingly unpredictable and extreme weather. We made a commitment to improve flood protection to 45,000 homes this Senedd term – we are delivering on that promise thanks to record investment.
Everyone deserves a warm home and we’re working to help people who are struggling with costs-of-living and paying their energy bills. We are investing more than £7 billion between 2022 and 2026 to ease financial pressures on households, help maximise income and help keep more money in people’s pockets.
We all have a part to play in supporting our communities this time of year. That could be by being vaccinated, using our NHS responsibly or just checking in on elderly or vulnerable neighbours regularly. Let’s all do what we can to look out for each other this winter.”
