An audit report in Wales said that although there had been some progress in addressing the safety issues highlighted in their 2009 report, risks to children and young people still arose in a number of areas of practice.
Source: Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: Follow-up review of safety issues, Wales Audit Office
Links: Report | WAO press release
Date: 2013-Dec
The Welsh Government began consultation on arrangements to support the effective delivery of Continuing NHS Healthcare by the National Health Service. The consultation would close on 13 March 2014.
Source: Continuing NHS Healthcare (CHC) Consultation on the 2014 National Framework, Welsh Government
Links: Consultation document
Date: 2013-Dec
A report examined the implementation of seven day consultant present care in the National Health Service across the United Kingdom. It said that changing practices would have resource implications in hospital, primary care and community settings that would require services to be reshaped and reallocated. It said that workforce flexibility and optimal value could be gained by employing more generalist consultants to lead multi-disciplinary teams. It called for in-depth financial modelling of the resource implications.
Source: Seven Day Consultant Present Care: Implementation considerations, Academy of Medical Royal Colleges
Links: Report | AMRC press release
Date: 2013-Nov
A report evaluated provision under the Flying Start programme for families with high support needs.
Source: Sarah Pope, Sarah Dobie, Eleanor Thompson, and Sarah Knibbs, Flying Start Qualitative Research with High Need Families, Welsh Government
Links: Report | Welsh Government press release
Date: 2013-Oct
The Welsh Government published a Bill designed to allow local health boards to focus their service planning, workforce, and financial decisions; and to implement them over a longer, more manageable, period. The Bill would achieve this by removing the existing annual financial duty in the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006, replacing this with a 3-year rolling financial duty. Stage 1 of the Bill (debate in plenary on general principles) was scheduled for 8 October 2013.
Source: National Health Service Finance (Wales) Bill, Welsh Government, TSO
Links: Bill | Explanatory memorandum | Welsh Government press release
Date: 2013-Oct
A report presented the findings of a baseline study into social isolation and loneliness in Wales. It examined how policies and services addressed the issues, and made recommendations for future improvements. Although some progress was being made, there was still significant potential for improvement. There needed to be a more consistent approach to evaluation of local authority (and other) activities aimed at tackling social isolation, supported by guidance from the Welsh Government. Initiatives targeting social isolation needed to be clear about which aspects they were tackling and how they would go about this.
Source: Deborah Fenney, 'Let's Start Assessing Not Assuming': A report about the approaches to tackling social isolation within Welsh local authorities, Welsh Government
Date: 2013-Sep
The Welsh Government published a White Paper containing proposals to strengthen the regulation and inspection of social care. It set out proposed reforms of the care and support legislative framework, including a new National Institute of Care and Support, and a shift to measuring against outcomes rather than minimum standards.
Source: The Future of Regulation and Inspection of Care and Support in Wales, Welsh Government
Links: White Paper | Welsh Government press release
Date: 2013-Sep
A report reviewed health improvement and associated programmes in Wales. It said that a lot of good work was being done: but it was often fragmented and spread too thinly. To achieve the necessary improvements, at pace and in depth, there was a need to focus efforts on a smaller number of multifaceted, integrated high-impact areas.
Source: Transforming Health Improvement in Wales: Working together to build a healthier, happier future, Public Health Wales
Links: Report | PHW press release | BBC report
Date: 2013-Sep
The Welsh Government published a framework for action on independent living, outlining the steps it would take to ensure that disabled people had the same access to services and opportunities as the rest of society. Measures in the plan included increasing the number of disabled people who were able to use the internet, and strengthening the tenancy rights of people with learning disabilities.
Source: Framework for Action on Independent Living, Welsh Government
Links: Framework | Welsh Government press release | Disability Wales press release
Date: 2013-Sep
The Welsh Government began consultation on proposals to promote more integrated health and social care for older people with complex needs.
Source: A Framework for Delivering Integrated Health and Social Care for Older People with Complex Needs, Welsh Government
Links: Consultation document | Welsh Government press release
Date: 2013-Jul
A report by a committee of the National Assembly for Wales examined a Bill designed to promote greater integration in health and social services in Wales. It welcomed the general principles underlying the Bill and the need for legislation: but it expressed concern that the policy objectives of the Bill might not be realized in practice.
Source: Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Bill: Stage 1 Committee Report, Health and Social Care Committee, National Assembly for Wales
Links: Report | NAW press release | OPCW press release
Date: 2013-Jul
The Welsh Assembly approved the Human Transplantation (Wales) Bill. The Bill introduced a 'soft' opt-out system of organ donation, under which consent to donation would be deemed to have been given unless a person stated a wish not to be a donor (opted out) – making Wales the first country in the United Kingdom where this system applied.
Source: Human Transplantation (Wales) Bill, Welsh Government, TSO
Links: Bill | Welsh Government press release | BHA press release | Nuffield CB press release | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Jul
An article compared community-based and individual-based targeting of parenting support interventions in disadvantaged communities in Wales.
Source: Judy Hutchings, Nia Griffith, Tracey Bywater, Margiad Elen Williams, and Helen Baker-Henningham, 'Targeted versus universal provision of support in high-risk communities: comparison of characteristics in two populations recruited to parenting interventions', Journal of Children's Services, Volume 8 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jul
A think-tank report examined what the health and social care system in England could learn from the experiences of the other countries of the United Kingdom. It considered the context in which health and social care were provided; identified policy initiatives that promoted integrated care and the impact of these initiatives; and considered the barriers and challenges to achieving integrated care. The structural integration of the health and social care system in England would bring few benefits unless it was accompanied by other changes, including: a willingness to challenge and overcome professional, cultural, and behavioural barriers; action to share information both within the National Health Service and between health and social care; organizational stability to avoid the distractions and delays that occurred when structures were altered frequently; and a willingness to provide financial support and flexibilities to enable the introduction of new models of care.
Source: Chris Ham, Deirdre Heenan, Marcus Longley, and David Steel, Integrated Care in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales: Lessons for England, King s Fund
Links: Report | Kings Fund press release
Date: 2013-Jul
The social care standards inspectorate in Wales published the findings from a review of children in need, focusing on safety, health, education, and quality of life. Some local authorities were seeking to transform children's social services by restoring the focus on the social work relationship and the skills and professional judgement of social workers. But social work practice at times was bureaucratic and focused on systems rather than people; and children and young people and their families reported that their relationships with social workers were poor.
Source: Making a Difference: Achieving good outcomes for children, young people and their families in Wales, Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Jun
A think-tank report examined the differences between the United Kingdom's four separate health systems. England's adherence to and extension of market-like mechanisms in managing health differentiated it most dramatically from the other three services. But lack of timely and genuinely comparable data meant that it was hard to say which country was getting better value for money from its health service. The four health departments should therefore agree specific indicators, establish which data was needed to make comparisons, and identify how best to collect that data.
Source: Nicholas Timmins, The Four UK Health Systems: Learning from each other, King s Fund
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Jun
An article identified the different approaches to integrated care taken by separate proposed care services legislation for England and Wales. Although there was much common ground between the two pieces of legislation, in other respects the approach taken to integrated care legislation differed between England and Wales.
Source: Ed Mitchell, 'Reforming care legislation in England and Wales: different legislative approaches to promoting integrated care', Journal of Integrated Care, Volume 21 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jun
The Welsh Government published a strategy for older people for the period 2013–2023. It said that the strategy was designed to ensure that older people had the resources they needed to participate fully in society, including contributing to community and family life, influencing decisions, and having their needs met.
Source: The Strategy for Older People in Wales 2013–2023, Welsh Government
Links: Strategy | Welsh Government press release | CHC press release
Date: 2013-May
The Welsh Government responded to a report by an Assembly Committee on health finances, saying that it accepted all the recommendations made.
Source: Response to the Report of the National Assembly for Wales Public Accounts Committee Report on Health Finances, Welsh Government
Links: Response
Notes: AM report (July 2012)
Date: 2013-Apr
An article examined the different approaches to integrated care taken by separate proposed care services legislation for England and Wales. Although there was much common ground between the two pieces of legislation, in other respects the approach taken to integrated care legislation differed.
Source: Ed Mitchell, 'Reforming care legislation in England and Wales: different legislative approaches to promoting integrated care', Journal of Integrated Care, Volume 21 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Apr
An article examined the potential for health and social care service integration in Wales, drawing on experience from the United Kingdom, Europe, and Canada.
Source: Gareth Morgan, 'Integration of health and social care – what can Wales learn and contribute?', Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, Volume 14 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Mar
The Welsh Government responded to a report by an Assembly Committee on residential care for older people. It said that its Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Bill was designed to give older people better control over their lives. There would also be a stronger emphasis on early intervention and prevention, and on independence rather than dependence.
Source: Written Response by the Welsh Government to the Report of the Health and Social Care Committee Entitled – Residential Care for Older People in Wales, Welsh Government
Links: Response
Notes: AM report (December 2012)
Date: 2013-Feb
A report by a committee of the National Assembly for Wales said that 'significant efforts' were being made to improve financial management within the National Health Service in Wales; and that substantial savings were being made. But financial forecasting by some local health boards appeared to be unrealistic and over-ambitious, while others had produced savings targets without identifying a realistic strategy to achieve them.
Source: Health Finances, Public Accounts Committee, National Assembly for Wales
Links: Report | Welsh Assembly press release
Date: 2013-Feb
The Welsh Government published a Bill that provided for unified legislation bringing together local authorities' duties and functions in relation to improving the well-being of people who needed care and support, and of carers.
Source: Social Services and Well-Being (Wales) Bill, Welsh Government, TSO
Links: Bill | Explanatory notes | Welsh Government press release | BAAF press release | BASW press release | Bevan Foundation blog post | OPCW press release | Scope press release | WLGA press release | BBC report
Date: 2013-Jan
A report (based on a study in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) said that employers should do much more to ensure that an employee s mild illness did not escalate into long-term absence and sickness-related worklessness.
Source: Mark Weston and Julia Manning, Work as a Health Outcome in the Devolved Nations: How Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland tackle sickness-related worklessness, 2020health
Links: Report | 2020 press release
Date: 2013-Jan
