 The HCW is in charge of commissioning specialist treatment in Wales |
A review of Health Commission Wales (HCW) - the controversial body which decides on funding specialist NHS treatment - is to be published later. It was ordered last year by Health Minister Edwina Hart after several patients campaigned against decisions to deny them costly medical procedures. HCW has a budget of almost �550m which pays for treatments normally unavailable on the NHS in Wales. The review is likely to be critical of the way it has dealt with patients. It is expected to highlight a lack of openness in HCW's decision-making process and recommend a way forward for the beleaguered body, says BBC Wales' health correspondent Hywel Griffith. The report will also consider whether HCW is fit for purpose and has enough money to do its jobs of deciding which patients receive which of the huge array of treatments it has control over - ranging from brain surgery to transplants and kidney services to cancer care.  |  It wasn't working as it was and the hardship it was causing patients to have to deal with the political side of things |
In the past patients have often found it very difficult to persuade HCW to fund a specialist treatments. Dave Powell who applied to HCW to pay for a specialist prostrate treatment called brachytherapy, was refused funding despite the recommendation of two specialists Instead, the decorator from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan launched a campaign to get help. After eight months and four refusals for treatment the commission suddenly relented allowing him to receive the treatment in August 2007. In April, the treatment was expanded across Wales but Mr Powell said more needs to be done to make the process of applying for specialist treatment easier and more transparent. "Out of the blue with no explanation Health Commission Wales just phoned and said you can have the treatment," he explained. "There was no reason why they came to that conclusion because they refused me four times in the those eight months.  Brian Powell campaigned for eight months to get the treatment he needed |
"The HCW definitely needs change. It wasn't working as it was and the hardship it was causing patients to have to deal with the political side of things. "They don't need that when they've got an illness. It's extra pressure on them and their families." The assembly's health committee is also expected to publish a report into proposals to cut the number of local health boards (LHBs) across Wales. They are expected to drop from 22 to eight with trusts and LHBs directly funded from the assembly government. The LHBS are currently set up along the same boundaries as local authorities but it is thought this number will be reduced with an admission they have proved too small to work effectively. A national board is likely to be created to oversee the service complete with new arrangements to maximise public accountability. The consultation on the changes closes at the end of June with a final decision expected in the autumn.
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