Welsh Government announces funding for community care

The Welsh Government has announced £8 million for community care to support people to stay well at home and therefore reduce pressure on hospitals.

The funding is intended to wrap care around the most vulnerable and help them to avoid hospital admissions.

Research has shown that people are more likely to recover better at home than in hospital.

The funding will be spent on increasing community health and social care workforce capacity in the evenings and on weekends including increasing the hours of community nurses and end of life care clinical nurse specialists.

It will also be used to deliver services such as the assessment of those people living with frailty or other complex needs and agreeing a plan to support their wellbeing and independence at home, particularly during illness or following an injury.

Health minister Eluned Morgan visited the Home First team based in Carmarthenshire, which is working with people in the Hywel Dda University Health Board.

The minister said: "What matters to older people in need of care and support is to be cared for in familiar surroundings with familiar people. They do not want to go to hospital unless this is really necessary.

"They are also less likely to lose their confidence and muscle strength, and less likely to pick up infections than in hospital.

"We are committed to driving change and transformation, and going further, faster to make sure more people can get the care and support they need at home or in their community. To enable this, learning about best practice needs to be shared across Wales.  

"The Home First team in Carmarthenshire is a fantastic example of an integrated system which is delivering a radical, person-centred approach to wellbeing, care and support in the community. This is helping to avoid unnecessary admissions to hospital and reducing Pathways of Care Delays across the region.

Deputy minister for social aervices Julie Morgan added: "Good health and wellbeing are the key to our ability to enjoy life to its full. This is particularly important to people in the later years of their life.

"Older people have accumulated a lifetime of experience, knowledge and learning, and have significant role to play in our society. We must reshape services, ensuring older people can continue to enjoy life, and ensuring our health and social care system is fit for the future and our increasingly ageing population.

"Our longer-term strategic vision is for a national care service in Wales."