Julie Morgan: Our ambition, as set out in 'A Healthier Wales', is to bring health and social care services together so that they're designed and delivered around the needs and preferences of individuals, with a much greater emphasis on keeping people healthy and well across all regions of Wales.
Julie Morgan: Thank you very much, and thank you very much, everyone, for the contributions that you've made. I know we're all driven to do as much as we possibly can to support children and young people to remain safely with their families, and where that is not possible, to have a positive experience of the care system. I hope you all agree that the annual report is clear in its account of all we've...
Julie Morgan: We've also identified a range of research to address gaps in the evidence around care-experienced children and young people. In December, we will be publishing an important piece of research about the number of children placed into care from parents with a learning disability. I'm also pleased to report we're progressing a programme of work around corporate parenting, which David is leading....
Julie Morgan: I thank Nick Ramsay for that intervention and I absolutely agree with him. Care-experienced children are the responsibility of all departments and I think we're very keen to be as public and open in what we're doing as a result of his committee's report, and we really welcome the scrutiny, so I thank him for that. I'm sure you've read the report, but here are a few highlights: our...
Julie Morgan: Diolch. It's a privilege for me to present this annual report to the Assembly today. This is the first report of the improving outcomes for children programme overseen by my ministerial advisory group, so ably chaired by David Melding AM. I deliberately use the word 'privilege' because I feel passionate about my responsibility for this agenda and I'm sincerely grateful to David for his...
Julie Morgan: Of course.
Julie Morgan: Yes, and I will be going on to refer to that later on. We want to ensure that everyone working in a healthcare setting has the appropriate skills and training necessary for them to make the reasonable adjustments that ensure individuals with a learning disability are treated effectively and receive high-quality care appropriate to their needs. So, led by the University of South Wales, work...
Julie Morgan: Thank you. And, firstly, I would like to thank the Paul Ridd Foundation and the Petitions Committee for bringing forward this petition today, and I was very pleased to meet Paul's sister and brother and other members of the foundation earlier this afternoon. Today's debate does provide me with the opportunity to explain our plans to embed a comprehensive national education programme across...
Julie Morgan: I thank Russell George for that question. It is obviously very important that we do have Changing Places widely available for people who do need them and I'm pleased to say that we've got one in the National Assembly for Wales and we've got one in Aberystwyth, in our building in Aberystwyth. I believe there are 45 across Wales, and I know that in your local health board that there's a...
Julie Morgan: We're committed to ensuring equal access to facilities for disabled people in Wales, in line with our recently published framework of action on independent living. I understand Powys Teaching Health Board is undertaking some positive work across its sites to improve access to facilities for disabled people.
Julie Morgan: I thank Jayne Bryant for that question. I found visiting the Newport carers, along with Jayne and John Griffiths, such a valuable occasion. The information, again, directly from carers' experiences is probably the most powerful thing in terms of shaping Government policy. We are planning, as Jayne has said, to have an awareness campaign on carers' rights. But, we've also revived our...
Julie Morgan: I thank David Melding very much for that question. The information that has come from 'Track the Act' is, obviously, absolutely crucial in taking forward our policies. Some of the recommendations that 'Track the Act' has made we are already carrying out or are committed to. For example, they're very concerned that we do make people more aware of their rights as carers, and we are planning a...
Julie Morgan: It is essential that there is good information about carers' experiences, which is why we funded Carers Wales to produce the 'Track the Act' survey. The recommendations and data are being considered and will be used to shape national carers policy and our work with service providers and stakeholders.
Julie Morgan: In terms of supporting the improvement of services' quality, we're funding the care home improvement Cymru programme over a three-year period. It's aimed at building supportive care home environments that move away from the top-down compliance approach and start with what matters to people living in, visiting, working in or managing a care home service. I was very struck by what Janet...
Julie Morgan: Yes, certainly.
Julie Morgan: At the moment, we've extended the register on a voluntary basis to domiciliary care workers ahead of their mandatory registration. So, yes, it's going to include both—domiciliary and care workers in homes. So, as I say, this should be very positive in terms of giving them more status and recognising that they are a profession. Because what more important job could anybody be doing, really?...
Julie Morgan: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank you, Janet Finch-Saunders, for bringing this debate to the Chamber tonight. I think it’s a great opportunity to recognise the importance of care homes and the social care sector as a whole, and I’m really pleased that Janet has been able to highlight some of the really good work that is done in the care sector, because I think it is...
Julie Morgan: I would ask the Member, if she has got any very serious concerns about any way that any vulnerable people are being treated, that she should write to me about those individual situations. And it's not possible to respond to 'a reliable source'—it's not possible to respond to those sorts of incidents. And if you have serious concerns, please would you write to me?
Julie Morgan: I can reassure the Member that I have regular meetings with the head of CIW, when we discuss all aspects of CIW's work. Obviously, the job that staff in CIW carry out is a very pressurised job, because they are looking at how our most vulnerable adults are looked after. And they take any evidence of any poor care that they see very, very seriously. And I can assure the Member that, in...
Julie Morgan: Well, obviously, the work that CIW does is absolutely crucial. It looks after the standards that are in our care homes in particular, and it's absolutely important that all the inspections they carry out are done to a sufficient depth, and are done in a very considered way. And I think what they are doing is doing very considered inspections, and I have every confidence in them.
