Last week, a group of Welsh Government officers were welcomed to Crown Buildings in Wrexham as part of their visit to North Wales.
They came to Wrexham to meet with staff working on two projects funded by the Regional Integration Fund. This fund brings together several existing funding streams to and focuses on community-based care, emotional health and well-being, supporting families to stay together safely, care-experienced children, home from hospital services, and accommodation-based solutions.
The two projects are the integrated prevention service and community catalysts:
Integrated Prevention Service (IPS) provides support to people looking to remain or return to their own home, but may require short-term support to do so long-term. IPS can create a tailored plan to help people achieve what matters to them.
Community Catalysts is a social enterprise jointly funded by Wrexham County Borough Council and the Health Board. It supports people set up as ‘micro-enterprises’ – small businesses ranging from sole traders up to businesses employing eight people – who offer flexible and personalised care and support services to older people, people living with disabilities, people experiencing poor mental health and carers. The services offered are intended to enhance the existing care offered by the local authority, independent providers and third sector.
Cllr John Pritchard, Lead Member for Adult Social Care, said: “There is a need to develop new and innovative ways of delivering care and support to meet increasing care needs of the population living at home, particularly in rural areas where demand for services is high. The social care market is facing significant challenges in recruitment leading to a long wait for individuals who need care at home. Community Catalysts have been commissioned to help build resilient community marketplaces, as well as offering individuals the ability to maintain wellbeing and access to their community and peers; reducing the demand on Wrexham’s domiciliary and residential care services.”
Senior Head of Service for Adult Social Care Alison Reeve and Interim Head of Service for Older People and Commissioning welcomed our guests and said: “It was a pleasure to share the work we are leading on in Wrexham with the Welsh Government, and demonstrate that we are dedicated to improving services and supporting our citizens to remain independent at home for as long as possible.
“As part of this commitment, we are also always looking for motivated and experienced staff. If you are experienced in social care and feel you would be a good fit in our innovative and expanding team, please take a look at the council’s recruitment pages to see what is available.”
