MIKE HEDGES WELCOMES NEW INVESTMENT IN SERVICES FOR PEOPLE WITH LIVER DISEASE

NEW £1M PLAN TO IMPROVE LIVER DISEASE SERVICES

MIKE HEDGES WELCOMES NEW INVESTMENT IN SERVICES FOR PEOPLE WITH LIVER DISEASE

A new national plan to tackle the increasing number of people suffering from liver disease will be backed by £1m of new funding from the Welsh Labour Government, Deputy Health Minister Vaughan Gething has announced.

Mike Hedges said ‘ I welcome this new investment in local health services for people with Liver Disease; for too long this has been an underfunded area of the Health Service; this new funding will begin to redress the balance. I am pleased that Wales has become to the first country in the UK to respond to The Lancet Liver campaign.’

Deaths from liver disease in Wales have more than doubled in the past 20 years – the increase is largely due to the rise in obesity, alcohol misuse and blood borne viral hepatitis. However, cases of liver disease as a result of these three causes are almost entirely preventable.

The new Liver Disease Delivery Plan will be supported by £1m of new funding from the Welsh Labour Government. An extra £1.377m of annual funding, which is linked to the Blood Borne Viral Hepatitis Action Plan, which came to an end this year, will also continue as part of the liver disease plan. Wales is the first UK country to respond to The Lancet’s liver campaign with a substantive plan and package of measures to prevent liver disease and improve services for patients.

The delivery plan aims to:
• Provide a more seamless service between the different organisations providing care and treatment to patients;
• Give patients an equal voice in their treatment and encourage people to take greater responsibility for their health;
• Increase expertise in liver disease throughout NHS Wales and encourage clinical leadership among health professionals to improve services and outcomes;
• Drive down the number of people developing liver disease and the number of deaths;
• Improve early detection and outcomes for people with liver disease in Wales.