20 June 2008
Sir Jeremy Beecham, architect of public services improvement in Wales and author of “Beyond Boundaries” report has praised social services leaders in Wales for their collaborative approach to delivering social services.
Addressing over 180 delegates during the final day of a major social services improvement conference in Llandudno today, he said:
“I much prefer the Welsh model of social services, which unlike the English model does not create an artificial divide between children’s and adult social care and I am impressed by the joint working that is happening at a local level. In particular, I am encouraged by the six pilot local service boards which have identified clear priorities that underline the importance of a health and social care interface in the future as the way forward for delivering service improvement.”
“I particularly emphasize the need for more collaboration, improving resources, enhancing special support, partnership and the development of the workforce. We are already seeing significant developments in these areas.”
Several other social services leads have similarly praised the Welsh collaborative approach to improving social services whilst reaffirming their support for more personalised care services in the future.
Stewart Greenwell, President ADSS Cymru said:
“There are three issues that I believe should transcend any party politics. The first issue is the need for increased self-directed support as a means of giving people real control over their own lives. The second is our relationship with our schools. We need to listen to the teachers’ concerns and share our understanding of how best to deal with challenging behaviour, whilst learning from teachers at the same time. Thirdly, we must strengthen our links with service providers outside of the public sector in order to raise standards in some areas of our work and to offer more choice to service users within our communities.”
Rob Pickford, Chief Inspector Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales said:
“The value of celebrating success and working as a social care family cannot be under estimated. We have seen substantial progress over the last few years and positive levers for change and improvement are now in place. We must make sure gains are held onto and we must nurture our hard earned progress and build upon it.”
Graham Williams, Director of Social Services, Welsh Assembly Government said:
“The Welsh Assembly’s strategy ‘Fulfilled Lives: Supportive Communities’ is the key strategic and policy framework for delivering social services progress over the next 10 years which local authorities are already responding well to. There will be clear leadership from the Assembly Government in terms of supporting councils to deliver action against this framework and in terms of what is expected of them. For example, one of the key challenges will be for social services directors to galvanise the resources available to them.”
“Also, there must be strong robust action for the development of the social services workforce across councils and also a refinement of the performance framework for social services.”
“We must agree some immediate priorities for protecting the most vulnerable people across our communities, in particular improving services for older people which is a key challenge that needs to be cracked.”
For more information contact: Natasha Weeks