CSP welcomes £30 million boost for community services in Wales

Announcing the planned investment, Eluned Morgan, the Welsh Minister for Health and Social Services, said: ‘Older people contribute hugely to Welsh society and they tell us what matters to them is fairly simple - if they need care and support, they want to be cared for in familiar surroundings with familiar people and do not want to go to hospital unless this is really necessary.

Research has also shown that people recover better in the comfort of their own home rather than in hospital, where they are less likely to become deconditioned and less likely to pick up infections. We must focus on transforming the way we provide care to enable this
 

‘We need to move the focus from treating short term episodes of ill-health to meeting the needs of more frail and elderly people with multiple health conditions.’

A postive "ripple effect" that reduces readmissions 

 CSP chief executive Karen Middleton said: ‘The Welsh Government’s decision to invest up to £30 million in community services is welcome. It further reinforces the CSP’s position that in order to help solve the crisis facing hospitals, significant investment must be made in community services and in recruiting and retaining the workforce to provide them.

‘This latest support must be part of sustained investment. The CSP knows that investing in high-quality rehab services, including physiotherapy, in the community has a ripple effect through the NHS, freeing up beds and improving the flow of people through hospitals – it’s encouraging to see the Minister also holds this view.

‘Not only that, but effective rehab in the community reduces the chance of patients entering a cycle of readmission into a hospital, which risks greater harm.’

Providing care in the community

The Welsh Government’s £30 million investment aims to to improve people’s chances of living at home independently, increase the use of technology that will support people at home and in the community, and redeploy staff and resources to ensure that people who are living with frailty can be supported to live at home.

As part of this, the investment plans to:

• deliver thousands of extra hours of reablement services across Wales – by providing a safe alternative to hospital admission, which will allow people to either stay at home or recover more quickly at home after a stay in hospital
• recruit more community workers who will be able to offer advise to people about how they can access the right support and services to help them recover and lead independent lives
• ensure that every local authority in Wales has a Technology Enabled Care (TEC) Responder Service by winter 2024
• strengthen community specialist palliative care
• provide practical support for local services to jointly produce individual care plans for people who are identified as being the most at risk of needing urgent care