Wales is dealing with a "tripledemic" which is causing widespread problems for staff in the health service, experts claim. Health boards across the country are currently contending with rising rates of Covid-19, record levels of strep A/scarlet fever cases and the typical winter flu season.
In Betsi Cadwaladr UHB in north Wales, all but the most urgent operations have had to be cancelled due, in part, to these three conditions. On Monday morning the health board declared a "critical incident" meaning it is "struggling to cope with the prolonged, significant demand on the health system". You can read more about that here.
Nesta Lloyd-Jones, assistant director of the Welsh NHS Confederation, described demand on the health and care system as "relentlessly high", while call volumes to the NHS Wales 111 helpline have increased by a whopping 300% - the highest on record. Here we look at all three health 'tripledemic' issues the NHS has to tackle and the threat they pose.
