Major changes to the way people’s needs are assessed will introduce ‘a new social care landscape’ in Wales, by Mark Smith in Wales Online, 11 May 2015
Prof Drakeford claims the changes will stop people from receiving care packages only when their needs are near “crisis point”.
He says intervening in the right way at the right time will mean many people can be supported in their own communities outside the formal social care system, and families can be supported to stay together.
He said: “The new Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act does not just change a few rules here and there.
“The changes being outlined will ensure people have much stronger control over the care and support they need to live their lives. This is not simply a case of adjusting what we do now.
“It replaces and rewrites the legislative basis for care and support in Wales. It represents a new social care landscape in Wales. It is a wide-ranging reform of which Wales should be proud.”
Prof Drakeford said the legislation has people “at its core” in a way which strengthens their voice and gives them more control over their lives.
He added: “It focuses on people’s abilities as well as needs, acknowledging that people themselves want to stay in control of what happens to them.
“The proposed changes are crucial to enable current and future generations to live their lives as fully as possible, providing the correct level of support to promote their wellbeing and to help sustain them in their families, networks and communities.”
As part of the new legislation, when someone needs help from social services, local authorities will need to begin by understanding what matters to that person, what their circumstances are and what they are trying to achieve.
The first part of the eligibility process is to assess if care and support intervention can address the need, risk or barrier, or enhance the resources that will enable the individual to retain their personal well-being.
The second part of the process is to determine whether the individual’s wellbeing outcomes cannot be met, or cannot be sufficiently met, solely through care and support co-ordinated by themselves, their family or carer, or others.
If this is the case, the individual requires support through a care and support plan, to co-ordinate their care and support or to manage it completely.
