We reimburse health bodies for losses and special payments which arise from claims and redress cases in accordance with the procedures approved by the NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership Committee.
Structured Settlement Management
The Welsh Risk Pool administers all long-term Periodical Payments on behalf of Welsh Government for the duration of a structured settlement incurred by an NHS Wales Health Body. This ensures compliance with a court order in a matter and provides funds for ongoing care and support for claimants who have experienced harm. The Welsh Risk Pool team engage with Claimants and their representatives to ensure the ongoing effective management of the settlement.
The National Learning Advisory Panel is a clinically led group which is coordinated by the Welsh Risk Pool and scrutinises the learning from events regarding claims and redress cases to ensure effective local learning is implemented and provides a platform for sharing lessons learned throughout NHS Wales.
Led by the Welsh Risk Pool, the All-Wales approach to Consent to Examination and Treatment provides a national training solution for clinicians involved in the consent process and provides a library of approved consent information leaflets to support clinicians in ensuring patients are fully informed about the risks and benefits of a proposed treatment or procedure. The Welsh Risk Pool supports organisations to comply with regulatory guidance which recognises that the dialogue between healthcare professionals and patients is essential for safe and effective decision making
Maternity and Neonatal Safety and Learning Programmes
We coordinate the all-Wales approach to obstetric emergency training through PROMPT Wales and Community PROMPT Wales, and to Intrapartum Fetal Surveillance training with ‘IFS Wales.’ In response to the Maternity and Neonatal Safety Support discovery report, we are developing an innovative training programme for the management of emergencies in neonatal services.
Once for Wales Concerns Management System
We lead the design, implementation and use of the Once for Wales Concerns Management Systems across health bodies and primary care.
We facilitate forums for practitioners in patient safety, concerns management and service user feedback to drive improvement, learn together and share experience and good practice.
In response to the causal factors identified in legal cases and reviews, we coordinate an all-Wales approach to the prevention, management, and reduction of harm associated with venous thromboembolism. This aims to improve patient experience and clinical outcomes. We manage two bespoke e-Learning modules to support staff to recognise and manage VTE.
We coordinate Anti-Violence Collaborative Wales (AVC), which is a collaboration between all NHS organisations in Wales, the four Welsh Police Forces, the Crown Prosecution Service in Wales and trade unions and staff associations. The partner organisations are signatories to a memorandum of understanding entitled the ‘Obligatory Responses to Violence in Healthcare’. The aim of the collaborative is to reduce incidents of violence and aggression against staff and those who utilise NHS Wales services. Where incidents of violence do occur, the AVC aims to ensure an appropriate response in addressing the issues and facilitate appropriate support for those affected by an incident.
Anti-Violence Collaborative Wales - NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership
We co-ordinate an All-Wales Radiology (unexpected findings) review and associated work strands that have arisen as a result. The review first commenced in 2019 due to the sustained level of legal cases where a key finding was the failure to act on the report of a radiological examination, resulting in delayed or missed diagnosis. The focus of the review is around achieving use of a national standardised electronic system, to reduce the risk and improve patient safety outcomes.
Specialist Investigation Support
We provide support to health bodies regarding complex investigations where the independence of the Welsh Risk Pool adds value. By accessing and utilising the vast experience across NHS Wales, the Welsh Risk Pool can provide independent reviews of cases and, if required, coordinate multi-professional support – including clinical and legal expertise. The Welsh Risk Pool assists health bodies to identify causal factors, system improvements or legal remedy.
Putting Things Right Assurance
Assurance reviews are conducted on behalf of Welsh Government in relation to the application by health bodies of the National Health Service (Concerns, Complaints and Redress Arrangements) (Wales) Regulations 2011 – known as the Putting Things Right (PTR) Regulations, along with analysis of an organisation’s compliance with the WRP Reimbursement Procedures. Bespoke training is provided to colleagues dealing with all aspects of PTR matters throughout Wales, to develop and enhance competence in this sector.
We consider the application of the all-Wales Policy on Indemnity and Insurance and advise health bodies in Wales in respect of indemnity arrangements and agreements between parties in the provision of health and care.
We occupy the role of client in legal cases brought in relation to former health authorities and bodies in Wales, ensuring the effective management of matters and timely payments are transacted where required.