Social Care News

Care Forum Wales gives cautious welcome to £2bn social care boost

The chief executive of Care Forum Wales, Mario Kreft, has given a cautious welcome to the Chancellor George Osbourne’s planned extra £2bn funding for social care services.

Mr Kreft, the honourary chief executive of Care Forum Wales, said: “It’s early days but it’s encouraging.

“We’re in a situation that is extremely challenging but there are a lot of vulnerable people and our society is based on values of caring for others.”

As to how the funding settlement will affect Wales, Mr Kreft said: “We hope it translates into Wales. It has to be a good signal.”

In his speech, Mr Osbourne said that £1bn of the extra funding would be aimed at helping improve co-ordination between the NHS and local government services. He said he hoped it would stop people “who fall through the crack between two systems”.

Mr Kreft said: “This is exactly where I think the independent sector comes in. We can offer ‘step up’ and ‘step down’ facilities providing dedicated respite care for an elderly person whose main carer, who may be their elderly partner, has a bad bout of flu or needs to have an operation, for example.

“We can also offer a stepping stone for people who are ready to leave hospital but not yet well enough to be cared for at home - helping to stop so-called bed-blocking in hospitals,” added Mr Kreft.

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