‌‌The event set the scene for WIEUC, which will provide a forum for academics, leaders of strategic healthcare planning, service providers and service users to collaborate and discuss out-of-hospital healthcare and how challenges facing its delivery may be addressed.

Speakers included Mark Drakeford AM; Professor Ceri Phillips, Head of the College of Human and Health Sciences; Professor Andy Newton, Chair of the College of Paramedics; Alison Porter, Thematic Research Network for Emergency, Unscheduled, and Trauma care (TRUST); Professor Julia Williams, University of Hertfordshire; and Swansea University’s Dr Pauline Griffiths and Neil Hore.

‌Also attending the launch were senior figures from Health Boards, the NHS, the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust (WAST), the Welsh Government, the College of Paramedics, as well as by key higher education staff.

Picture: l-r, Vice Chancellor Prof Richard B Davies; Prof Ceri Phillips, head of the College of Human and Health Sciences; Prof Mark Drakeford, Welsh Government Minister for Health and Social Services; Prof Andy Newton, chair of the College of Paramedics

Health Minister Professor Mark Drakeford said:

“I am delighted to formally launch the Welsh Institute of Emergency and Unscheduled Care.  

It  will provide a focus for academics, planners, service providers and users to collaborate and discuss out-of-hospital care and its challenges in an approach which enables patients to be treated as close to their homes as possible.”

Professor Ceri Phillips said:

“The Institute will function as a focus for emergency and unscheduled care education, research and strategic influence within Wales and in the wider context of emergency and unscheduled care practice in the UK, EU and internationally. The driving force is the development of paramedic excellence and the benefits that will bring to healthcare delivery.

“The event today shows how we, at Swansea University, intend to lead improvements in emergency and unscheduled care. We must ensure that we work collaboratively with all parties involved in the emergency and unscheduled care process in order to deliver the best health care possible to the people of Wales.

“The McClelland Review highlighted the need for an upskilled and modernised workforce with greater levels of autonomy and clinical decision making. The establishment of WIEUC provides one of the key ingredients to meeting this requirement and represents the University’s contribution to enhance the workforce of the emergency and unscheduled care service of the future.”

Dr Pauline Griffiths, Director of Pre-Qualifying Studies at the College of Human and Health Sciences, who led the WIEUC team organising the launch, said:

“The initial aims for WIEUC are to examine current integrated service provision for emergency and unscheduled care based on local and national evidence with a view to redesign delivery structures and develop health professionals to provide an excellent yet prudent health delivery for the people of Wales. Such excellence will align physicians with specialist practitioners (paramedical and nursing) so as to provide timely and effective care management and treatment that is evidenced based.

“Higher education has an important role facilitating professional development ensuring that it is fit for practice and its needs. Strong partnership working can produce practitioners that not only contribute to the wider NHS in terms of cost effectiveness but also practitioners that can have a profound effect on the individual care needs of patients.”

College of Human and Health Sciences