Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

Organisations providing social, leisure or recreational activities in Carmarthenshire are being urged to promote their services on a new Welsh social care and well-being information website. The Dewis Cymru website consists of a series of information pages designed to help people with their well-being and is a resource directory of groups and community services. It’s the place to go for people who want information or advice about well-being – whether that’s their own well-being or the well-being of a family member or friend. Twenty local authorities across Wales are now involved in the Dewis Cymru project. Local information is available for North Wales, Cardiff, the Vale of Glamorgan, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf. All are actively using the website to support the provision of information and advice in their area. Carmarthenshire is currently in the development process. You can upload your information directly on the website. Visit: www.dewis.wales

People who receive care or support in Carmarthenshire have been sharing their stories as part of a campaign to highlight the role of social care services in the county and inform the public about the services available. In a series of short videos being shared on social media, service users have explained how they are being supported to live as independently as possible. Providers have also spoken about how they support people in need. The stories can be found on Carmarthenshire County Council’s website, Facebook and Twitter pages by searching #OurStories. The council has also produced a short film to demonstrate the range of social care services available to help people who are in need of practical support due to illness, disability, old age or their vulnerability. Support can be as simple as having a personal assistant to provide help around the home, or structural changes to help people live safely and comfortably in their home. Over the last year, 4,891 adults have received commi...

Retired Director of Social Care, Health and Housing Bruce McLernon was made an OBE in the New Year Honours list. He was recognised for services to social care and local government, particularly in Carmarthenshire. Mr McLernon described the honour as “humbling”. He said: “It’s the fact that people think you're worthy of it. It's not just about me, it's about the people I worked with — the officers, councillors, members of the public I engaged with and the various partner agencies we worked with. "I am told it is a very pleasant experience at the palace, and myself and my wife will make the most of it because it certainly is a privilege." Council leader Emlyn Dole passed on his congratulations, and said it was “very well deserved for all his hard work.” Cllr Dole added: “As the chair of the health and social care scrutiny committee for two years, I had the pleasure of working with Bruce when he was the director. He was very easy to work with, and was always willin...

Delivering a future programme for the transformation of social care has been discussed by Welsh Government ministers and social care chiefs across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Powys. The Minister for health and social services Mark Drakeford and chair of the National Social Services Partnership Forum, Gwenda Thomas AM, met the four county senior representatives together with officers from Powys and Hywel Dda University Health Boards and Pembrokeshire and Powys associations of voluntary organisations. They discussed the readiness of the region for the implementation of the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014. The Minister and Mrs Thomas emphasised the importance of the Act in providing a statutory basis for the transformation of social care in Wales and the need for strong political and professional leadership during an ongoing programme of change. They endorsed arrangements for delivering such leadership through the Mid and West Wales Health and Social Ca...

A new agreement signed by seven organisations across three counties is demonstrating West Wales’ commitment to working differently with the Third Sector. In September 2011, Hywel Dda Health Board, the three Local Authorities and three County Vouluntary Councils (CVCs), delivered Wales’ first health and social care ‘co-design framework’, a comprehensive report called A Co-designed Future: The Third Sector Role in Health and Social Care in Hywel Dda. The report recognised the contribution of the third sector in the delivery of services that support patients and carers, marking a new strategic direction for joint work with the third sector in supporting health, social care and wellbeing. As part of the report, a number of recommendations were made, including the development of a tripartite (health, local authority and third sector) Compact Agreement across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire. This Compact Agreement has now been signed by the Chief Executives of Hywel Dda Health...

There is still time for people to give their views on a strategy outlining how agencies will work together to support carers. Hywel Dda Health Board and the three local authorities have worked together on the draft Information and Consultation Strategy which will sets out how they will all work together to provide information to carers and include carers in the arrangements made for those they care for. The strategy highlights the importance of effective early identification and engagement of carers, increasing take-up of carers needs assessments and the wide availability of appropriate information provision on services, support and entitlements. Joint training and engagement with staff across agencies is recognised as being key to this process. The strategy outlines how health and social care staff will be engaged, the training which will be made available to them to ensure carers are identified at an early stage and ensure they have full access to support. Carers are invited to give...