Pa ymchwil y mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn ei wneud a pha gamau y mae'n eu cymrydi sicrhau bod pobl sy'n dioddef effeithiau tymor hwy COVID-19 yng Nghymru yn gallu cael gafael ar y cymorth sydd ei angen arnynt?
We are still learning about COVID-19 and national guidance and local services will need to develop in line with latest evidence and research.
Since the first COVID-19 peak earlier in the year, the NHS in Wales has been developing and implementing plans, which focus on preventing four harms:
- Harm from COVID-19 itself;
- Harm from an overwhelmed health and social care system,
- Harm from reduction in non COVID-19 activity
- Harm from wider societal action/lockdown
The Winter Protection Plan is underpinned by the need to address these four harms in line with World Health Organisation guidance.
Through Health and Care Research Wales, the Welsh Government is involved in UK-wide research to investigate potential treatments (vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics) in response to the coronavirus pandemic. This includes involvement in the UK Urgent Public Health (UPH) Panel which has been set up to prioritise approval of crucial studies for the effective care of people who are severely ill as well as people in the community.
In relation to the long-term effects of the virus, there is an awareness that research is needed to evaluate the impact of the disease. An example of this is the Post-Hospitalisation COVID-19 Study (PHOSP-COVID) approved by the UPH panel. This is a major UK-wide study with sites in Wales, including Swansea Bay University Health Board, which was set up to follow up people previously hospitalised with the virus to assess the impact of COVID-19 on patient health and recovery and inform the development of care pathways to help people recover as fully as possible.
Health and Care Research Wales has also supported a number of UK-wide research funding schemes, including the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) England ‘Recovery and Learning’ call, which specifically looks at the medium and longer-term consequences of COVID-19. This is an important part of the UK’s response to providing high-quality and timely evidence to support system recovery and learning, specifically on health outcomes, public health, social care and health service delivery across the UK and to mitigate the impact of subsequent phases and aftermath.
The Welsh Government published a national rehabilitation framework in May (https://gov.wales/rehabilitation-framework-continuity-and-recovery-2020-2021). This has been underpinned by specific guidance for the four identified population groups (https://gov.wales/rehabilitation-needs-people-affected-impact-covid-19-guidance).
Health boards, local authority and third sector partners, are using this to plan rehabilitation services to respond to the needs of their populations.