Health Secretary, Vaughan Gething has announced £12m for an ambitious programme to modernise and improve health and social care in West Wales.
This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government
The money will support a range of initiatives that shift services from hospital to people’s homes and communities making it easier for people to access the care they need, stay well and keep their independence.
Led by the Regional Partnership Board, the West Wales programme is the latest to receive funding from the Welsh Government’s £100m Transformation Fund. The Fund has been created to support key actions from the Welsh Government’s long term plan for health and social care, A Healthier Wales.
The programme includes:
- New use of technology to enable monitoring of individuals with health conditions, or at risk of developing them, within their homes. Helping people look after themselves, reducing isolation and providing rapid wrap-around support within communities on a 24/7 basis
- Bringing services together, speeding up plans to offer health, social care and other support from one place closer to home
- Building community resilience, improving access to activities that help people feel involved, safe and fulfilled in their neighbourhoods.
Mr Gething said:
“With an increase in life expectancy and our continued public health challenges, our health and social care services will face even greater demand in the future. In order to meet that demand we need to truly transform the way we deliver care in the future.
This will require better integration of health, social services and the third sector to deliver care closer to home and reduce pressure on hospitals. A Healthier Wales sets out how can achieve this and our Transformation Fund will deliver that vision by funding projects that have potential to scale up to be used across Wales.”
Chair of West Wales Regional Partnership Board Councillor Jane Tremlett said:
“We are delighted to have been awarded this investment and opportunity to deliver further integration between health and care in our region for the benefit of our communities. Our initial three projects will focus on technology, strengthened integration and more community based support to make a real difference in people’s lives.
We are confident that each of these areas will not only benefit citizens in our area but could potentially lead change across Wales and further afield. We are keen also to develop other areas of regional work through development of staff and other partners to maximise social value and to engage meaningfully with our citizens.”