Plans by the Welsh Government to give people who receive care “a stronger voice and real control over the social care services they use” are open to consultation from today.
The Social Services (Wales) Bill will give users a set of legal rights and offer more opportunities for people to take charge of their own care budgets. Consultation on the Bill – announced by the Welsh Government in January – will last until 1 June. The Bill will then be introduced in October.
Gwenda Thomas, Deputy Minister for Children and Social Services, said: “The Bill is about giving people a stronger voice and real control over the social care services they use and to help meet their changing needs.
“This Bill will help us all tackle the many challenges facing social services in Wales but will also allow us all to seize the opportunities before us.”
Care Forum Wales, which represents more than 500 people in private social care, said in January that the Bill was the “most important development in social care for two generations”. They believe it will help to reduce bed blocking in hospitals by providing more appropriate and more cost-effective care in the community.
Bill Walden-Jones, Chief Executive of the Welsh mental health charity, Hafal, said: “The proposed legislation will extend some limited new choices to people who use social services, including people with a serious mental illness and their families. This is the right direction of travel as Hafal’s 1,200 Members know that there can never be first class mental health services in Wales until patients can sit down with their care coordinator or doctor and choose which package of treatment and care they want to take up. We still have a long way to go.”
Care Forum Wales, which represents more than 500 people in private social care, said in January that the Bill was the “most important development in social care for two generations”. They believe it will help to reduce bed blocking in hospitals by providing more appropriate and more cost-effective care in the community.
For information on how to respond to the Consultation please visit: http://tinyurl.com/7uum4wl