Latest updates from Health and Social Services

Minister and Deputy Minister write reviews on Adult Disability, and on Independent Care Assessments

Today, two written statements have been published from the department of Health and Social Services for Wales.

The first is a Review of Adult Learning Disability In-Patient Provision Managed or Commissioned by NHS Wales, by Vaughan Gething, Minister for Health and Social Services.

The report and recommendations provide a baseline of detailed information to support health boards, local authorities and regional partnership boards to strengthen local provision of supported care and focus on those aspects of service quality that require improvement. 

The second, from Deputy Minister Julie Morgan AM, is a Written Statement on Welsh Independent Living Grant (WILG) - Update on Independent Care Assessments

Morgan has instructed her officials to undertake a review of the direct payments and NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) interface.

Morgan says: “This is with a view to determining whether there are other mechanisms, for example independent users’ trusts, that could be used to ensure people that need more support from the NHS are not put in a position of losing the team of personal assistants they have funded through direct payments and built up over a number of years. 

“If a better more equitable way can be found, this would remove the apparent fear that some people feel about the prospect of CHC.”

BASW Cymru and the Social Workers Union (SWU) recently met with Morgan to lobby on improving working conditions for social workers and reversing the depletion of resources.