Health Minister Edwina Hart has visited Carmarthenshire to see some of the latest work being done to improve dementia services in the county.
The Minister opened an extension to Hafan Croeso Dementia Respite Care Home which has been expanded from four to seven beds, thanks to a Welsh Assembly Government grant of £81,000 and a £25,000 grant from the Carmarthenshire County Council.
The Home can now provide a mix of residential and respite beds, the latter critical to ensuring that carers are properly supported while their relatives are being looked after sensitively and with dignity.
Health Minister Edwina Hart said:
“This is an innovative way for the Welsh Assembly Government to work in partnership with a voluntary sector organisation to provide a respite service in the community.
“Underpinning all of this work is the need to ensure the protection of vulnerable adults, and that people with dementia and their carers are treated with dignity and respect.”
John Skipper, Chief Officer Carmarthenshire Community Health Council, said:
“Hafan Croeso is central to the local provision of community dementia care, to promote independence and maintain sufferers within a home environment. Without the positive intervention of the Welsh Assembly Government, it would have had to close.
“This investment demonstrates the Welsh Assembly Government’s commitment to tackling a burgeoning need for dementia care services in Wales. We are delighted with the progress and the way that this project has been taken forward in the best possible way, with integrated working between the local authority and health and social care agencies.”
The Minister also attended the opening of the new Alzheimers Society service base for West Wales.
The charity’s new premises in Crosshands provides information and support for people with all forms of dementia and those who care for them, across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire. They also arrange monthly support groups across the county for people living with dementia and their carers.
Trudie Ching, Dementia Support Manager at the Alzheimers Society, Carmarthenshire, said:
“With the projected rise in the number of people developing dementia over the coming years, the new service base in Crosshands gives us a vital opportunity to extend the support we offer to people with dementia and carers across West Wales. The extra space the new offices provide also mean we can increase the number of our volunteers, who are vital to the work we do.”
The Welsh Assembly Government is committed to developing services for people with dementia and our work on a National Dementia Plan for Wales in ongoing. A group of experts, chaired by Ian Thomas, Director of the Alzheimer’s Society in Wales, has been set up to oversee the draft National Dementia Plan and last year this underwent public consultation.
The Health Minister Edwina Hart and Deputy Minister Gwenda Thomas recently met with the group. Six priority areas have been identified for improvement and the Health Minister has established independent, external expert groups in each of these areas.
