The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services, Vaughan Gething, announced this week the allocation of additional £15 million funding to implement a coordinated improvement programme for the care of the critically ill. Having acknowledged the challenges faced by Welsh critical care services through capacity constraints and a particular need to relieve pressure on sites developing specialist regional pathways, the Task and Finish group has made recommendations according to seven work streams (capacity, workforce, PACU, transfers, long-term ventilation, outreach and performance).

This is a positive development for critical care in Wales, has raised the profile of the work staff in critical care provide, and provided a significant opportunity for critical care services to engage with health board priority setting.

Oversight of the implementation of this work will now pass to the Critical Illness Implementation Group and Welsh Critical Care and Trauma Network.