History
The Artificial Limb & Appliance Service originated during the First World War. The War Office (precursor to the British Ministry of Defence) set up a service in Roehampton to deal with the needs of military amputees.
From the 1960s, the service had expanded and was operated by the UK Government's Department of Health and Social Security for a largely civilian population. By then, wheelchair supply and other related disablement services had been added to the remit. The majority of service users were elderly individuals who often had disabilities due to systemic medical conditions.
In 1984 the British government set up the McColl working party to review and report on the quality and management of disablement services in England. In 1986 it recommended a new management board should be set up to manage their efficiency and cost effectiveness. As a result, the Disablement Services Authority (DSA) was set up in England to manage the 49 Artificial Limb & Appliance Centres (ALACs) through regional and district health authorities by 1991. ALAC services were transferred to the National Health Service in England in July 1991.
After a period of consultation, it was agreed the Welsh Health Common Services Authority (WHCSA) should assume operational management responsibility for the services in April 1988. The Artificial Eye Service in Wales remained under Welsh Office management until it too was transferred to the WHCSA in 1993. At the time, it was agreed that the transfer should be for an interim period - April 1988 to April 1991. There would then be further consultation with the wider NHS in Wales.
In 1995 the Secretary of State decided that the management of ALAS should transfer to the University Hospital of Wales, Morriston and Wrexham
The Welsh Government is the devolved government of Wales. The government consists of ministers, who attend cabinet meetings, and deputy ministers who do not, and also of a counsel general. It is led by the first minister, usually the leader of the largest party in the Senedd, who selects ministers and deputy ministers with the approval of the Senedd. The government is responsible for tabling policy in devolved areas for consideration by the Senedd and implementing policy that has been approved by it.
Singleton Hospital is a general hospital in Sketty Lane, Swansea, Wales. It is managed by Swansea Bay University Health Board.
NHS Wales is the publicly funded healthcare system in Wales, and one of the four systems which make up the National Health Service in the United Kingdom.
Morriston Hospital is a 750-bed hospital located in Cwmrhydyceirw near Morriston in Swansea, Wales. It is managed by Swansea Bay University Health Board. Alongside its role as a district general hospital, Morriston is a teaching hospital for medical students of Swansea University Medical School.
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (CAVUHB) is the local health board of NHS Wales for Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan, in the south-east of Wales. Formed on 1 October 2009 through the amalgamation of three NHS organisations in the Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan area. The three organisations amalgamated were: Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust, employing 12,000 staff and previously responsibility for hospital services in the Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan area; Cardiff Local Health Board; and Vale of Glamorgan Local Health Board both responsible for GP, Dental, Optical and pharmacy services. The headquarters of the Board is in the University Hospital of Wales, in Cardiff. Cardiff and Vale University Health Board is the operational name of Cardiff and Vale Local Health Board.
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The National Health Service Act 1946 came into effect on 5 July 1948 and created the National Health Service in England and Wales thus being the first implementation of the Beveridge model. Though the title 'National Health Service' implies a single health service for the United Kingdom, in reality one NHS was created for England and Wales accountable to the Secretary of State for Health, with a separate NHS created for Scotland accountable to the Secretary of State for Scotland by the passage of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1947. Similar health services in Northern Ireland were created by the Northern Ireland Parliament through the Health Services Act 1948.
Healthcare in Wales is mainly provided by the Welsh public health service, NHS Wales. NHS Wales provides healthcare to all permanent residents that is free at the point of need and paid for from general taxation. Health is a matter that is devolved, and considerable differences are now developing between the public healthcare systems in the different countries of the United Kingdom, collectively the National Health Service (NHS). Though the public system dominates healthcare provision, private health care and a wide variety of alternative and complementary treatments are available for those willing to pay.
Swansea Bay University Health Board (SBUHB) is the local health board of NHS Wales for Swansea and Neath Port Talbot, in the south-west of Wales. Established as Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board (ABMUHB) in 2009, it was renamed and had its boundaries altered on 1 April 2019. In February 2019 it was decided to rename it Swansea Bay University Health Board and to alter the boundary with the Cwm Taf University Health Board.
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Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) is the local health board of NHS Wales for the north of Wales. It is the largest health organisation in Wales, providing a full range of primary, community, mental health, and acute hospital services for a population of around 694,000 people across the six principal areas of north Wales as well as some parts of Mid Wales, Cheshire and Shropshire. Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board is the operational name of Betsi Cadwaladr Local Health Board.
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Dragon's Heart Hospital was a temporary hospital located at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. It opened on 13 April 2020 to help deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales. It was decommissioned towards the end of October and early November 2020.
Regional economy in Wales is centred on four regional economic boards in Wales. Each board oversees a city or growth deal, signed between 2016 and 2022, lasting 10–15 years. Two of the deals are city deals signed and proposed by their respective economic boards, and their areas are described as "city regions"; the Cardiff Capital Region and Swansea Bay City Region. Whereas in North Wales, the North Wales Economic Ambition Board negotiated a North Wales growth deal signed in 2020, and in Mid Wales, the Growing Mid Wales Partnership, led negotiations for a Mid Wales growth deal signed in 2022. The programmes are based on the City Deal and Growth deal initiatives set up by the Coalition UK Government in 2012, to promote the decentralisation of the UK economy, by stimulating local economic growth.
