The Health Minister has said the NHS in Wales must move towards a culture of ‘prudent health care’ – not providing treatment where it is unlikely to benefit the patient, or could do harm – if it is to carry on providing an equitable service.
 

Mark Drakeford said: “There is no choice but change in the Welsh NHS. The only choice is between planned change, in which we attempt to take our destiny into our own hands and shape our collective futures, or change that will happen to us in an unplanned, unpredictable, ungovernable way”.
 

The Welsh Government wants to embed the principles associated with prudent medicine and health care in the NHS in Wales. They want clinicians to focus on doing the minimum necessary to benefit the patient, for example, the over-prescribing of antibiotics which in many cases makes little difference to the patient and has contributed to a build up of resistance to the drugs. But will it work? And what will it look like in practice?
 

The IWA gathers together some of the key figures in the debate on prudent healthcare for a half-day conference to explore the issues.

Cost:
IWA Members- £45 +VAT
Non Members- £90 +VAT

Book your place online.