Welsh Gov introduce simplified rules for social care assessment

Major changes to the way people’s needs are assessed to decide if they need a package of care and support in Wales have been unveiled by Health and Social Services Minister, Mark Drakeford.

Under the changes, the rules for social care eligibility are to be simplified so that people receive the appropriate care to their circumstances and needs.

The current approaches to eligibility and assessment of people across Wales are often inconsistent. The new model is designed to bring these processes under one framework while recognising the different needs of children and adults.

The new eligibility model will remove the current ‘cliff-edge’ decisions where people receive care and support services only when their needs are at or near crisis point.  This will be replaced with a more individualised approach that will require local authorities to put in place an appropriate and wherever possible, preventive response for each individual.

The new arrangements will focus on local authorities working with people and their carers and families to identify strengths, capacity and capability to maximise an individual’s wellbeing and independence.

The changes are being introduced as part of wide-ranging reforms to social care law when the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 comes into force in April 2016.

Mark Drakeford said: “The new Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act does not just change a few rules here and there. The changes being outlined today will ensure people have much stronger control over the care and support they need to live their lives. This is not simply a case of adjusting what we do now.  

“It replaces and rewrites the legislative basis for care and support in Wales.  It represents a new social care landscape in Wales. It is a wide-ranging reform of which Wales should be proud.

“At its core is an approach that focusses on people, in a way which strengthens their voice and gives them more control over their lives.  It focuses on people’s abilities as well as needs – acknowledging that people themselves want to stay in control of what happens to them.

“The proposed changes are crucial to enable current and future generations to live their lives as fully as possible, providing the correct level of support to promote their wellbeing and to help sustain them in their families, networks and communities.”

The new approach aims to reduce the number of people who require a care and support plan by introducing opportunities to help people retain independence, and access early intervention and prevention services, without the need for a formal plan.

The hope is that intervening in the right way, at the right time will mean that many people can be supported in their own communities outside the formal social care system, and families can be supported to stay together.