Social Care News

Better co-ordination with independent sector could help ease winter pressures on NHS – CFW chair

Care Forum Wales has given evidence to the Assembly's Health and Social Care Committee as part of its inquiry into 'winter preparedness'.

CFW chair Mario Kreft and senior policy adviser Mary Wimbury both gave evidence to the committee, stressing the need for greater joined up planning and working between the independent and public sectors in social care and health.

They made clear that independent providers have capacity to be used to provide step up, step down or reablement services which are not currently being used but could release pressure on the hospital system.

Read Care Forum Wales' submission to the Health and Social Care Committee

We believe the Regional Partnership Boards created during the fourth Assembly should become a key component in bringing statutory and non-statutory partners together to deal with complex issues such as winter preparedness.

Such partnership working is at very early stages and our members still see problems which could be dealt with by better co-ordination and recognition of the work of the sector. In some areas we see blockages in the system with patients waiting for assessments by health professionals or social workers before discharge.

Improved joint working could ensure that providers are willing to take on the care of new people, for example, on Fridays, rather than be concerned that the support networks, medical supplies or case notes will not be available and there will not be sufficient community support to take on care safely over the weekend.

Independent providers have capacity to be used to provide step up, step down or reablement services which are not currently being used but could release pressure on the hospital system.

Such partnership working requires better relationships to be built up together with mutual trust between the statutory and non-statutory sectors in terms of what can be provided.