Your Vascular Services in South East Wales
Ended April 2021
What are Vascular Services?
The vascular system is the interlinked network of blood vessels (veins and arteries) that connect to the heart and lungs and provide oxygen and nutrients to all the organs and tissues of the body. Vascular services help to advise and treat people when their vascular system needs investigations or treatment, as well as to provide advice on maintaining good vascular health.
Vascular Services in the South East Wales are now organised as a hub and spoke model.
This model of care has been implemented by the South East Wales Vascular Network to ensure the provision of high-quality, safe and effective care is maintained for the future.
The transformation is made up of a partnership between Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board and Powys Teaching Health Board.
The aim of the South East Wales Vascular Network is to improve patient outcomes, and provide coordinated vascular services for a population across a wide geographical area and involving a number of different hospitals.
What does this model of care look like?
Hub Hospital
The hub receives all vascular emergencies requiring vascular or endovascular intervention, along with all vascular inpatient urgent care. It has dedicated vascular inpatient beds in a ward staffed by nurses with an interest in vascular surgery.
The hub hospital is University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board. It was selected due to the range of acute services already established at the site as a specialist provider of major trauma, interventional cardiology and cardio-thoracic surgery. The links between these services and the vascular service made it the preferred option for the hub by senior doctors from all Health Boards involved.
Spoke Hospital
When patients begin their recovery and rehabilitation journey, their care will be provided from a hospital and community setting which is as close to their home as possible.
Given the need for consultant led A&E and a general surgery emergency service, the spoke hospitals for each Health Board area are:
- Grange University Hospital and Royal Gwent Hospital, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
- Royal Glamorgan Hospital, Llantrisant, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board
- University Hospital of Wales (Lakeside Wing), Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
Please note plans are in place for the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board spoke hospital to become University Hospital Llandough
What are the benefits for patients?
Having vascular surgical services at a hub with supporting spoke hospitals has better outcomes for patients.
The hub and spoke model for vascular services offers resilience and flexibility for the future, allowing us to:
- continue to provide a high-quality, safe and effective care
- attract highly specialist staff and nurture talent
- make services more sustainable and robust
- build more resilience into our workforce
- foster a more collaborative approach to working that improves outcomes
Please speak to our team if you require any further information.
