How is the Welsh Government supporting care homes in north Wales at risk of closure?
The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 (“the Act”) places statutory duties on local authorities and local health boards to meet the care and support needs of people in Wales including the provision of care homes for the delivery of residential and nursing care.
On the 1 September the statutory National Framework for the Commissioning of Care and Support in Wales: Code of Practice (“the National Framework”) came into force.
The National Framework aims to standardise the commissioning process whilst still allowing commissioners the necessary flexibility and variation in practices to meet their specific local population needs.
Commissioning bodies are expected to continually monitor their providers and in turn understand the shape of their market including identifying and addressing any gaps or risks. These provisions are intended to ensure that the current and future needs of local populations are being met. This includes ensuring the sufficiency of services such as care homes.
Through the work of the National Commissioning Board commissioning bodies have been provided with a range of tools to support them in this work including a Market assessment matrix and a provider risk assessment checklist. Escalation protocols have also been recently reviewed to ensure any local risks can be identified and communicated to wider commissioners.