CARE FORUM WALES | MANIFESTO
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CARE FORUM WALES | MANIFESTO
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TRUE PARTNERSHIP
FAIR CARE FOR ALL
Partnership isn’t a slogan — it’s how we deliver better care. Care Forum Wales believes that integrated care only works when every voice is valued. A truly integrated care service can be achieved by: • Recognising and respecting the value brought by all parties across health and social care to the lives of the people that we serve. • Supporting all parties and treating them fairly.
different partners can or can’t offer to new models. • Giving equal opportunities to access funding, with shared risk and accountability. • Enabling challenge to be made safely. • Making decisions collaboratively and transparently. Above all, partnership must serve the needs and rights of Welsh citizens and not any single ideology. By working together, we can translate words into action.
Every person in Wales deserves the same standard of care and the same right to choose who provides it. Yet funding varies dramatically depending on where someone lives, creating inequality that
Commissioners have the discretion to prioritise care. We invite them to use it wisely. The absence of a national fee methodology has created a system where some people in Wales, and their families, are effectively paying twice. Due to the unequal rates set by local authorities, many care providers can’t cover their costs and are forced to request third party top-up fees. In Care Forum Wales’s view, this is a tax on care that some people experience simply because of where they live. Wales urgently needs a consistent, transparent approach to funding care. The National Office for Care and Support is a big step forward and we urge Welsh Government to introduce a national fee methodology as opposed to consulting on the need for one. Toolkits like “Let’s Agree to Agree” already exist. Let’s populate them with consistent data and build a fairer, more sustainable sector together. We believe this is a pivotal opportunity to shape a fairer, more sustainable care system. By working together, we can simplify fee setting, strengthen trust between providers and commissioners, and ensure funding reflects the true value of every person in our care.
undermines dignity and choice. We invite partners to work with us to change this.
There are massive inconsistencies with funding across the whole spectrum of care, but older people’s residential and nursing care offers a clear starting point for reform. A national fee methodology could identify the true cost of care, reducing the inequalities that currently exist. Disparities of over £10,000 per person per year exist between local authorities. Health board funding is equally inconsistent. Some Continuing Health Care [CHC] rates are lower than Funded Nursing Care [FNC], despite higher needs. A minority of health boards regularly under-assess people as needing FNC as opposed to CHC which risks safety and denies people their right to free healthcare. This must be addressed. Care should be based on needs, rights and choices — not postcode or politics.
• Removing artificial boundaries to collaborative working, such as by making assumptions about what
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