3. Will the First Minister make a statement on the ways in which health boards and local authorities can collaborate to ensure effective and joined-up working? OAQ51576

Standards can best be raised when partners work together. This year, £60 million has been provided via the integrated care fund to support health and social services to deliver a wide range of integrated services in response to their population assessments. 

With the parliamentary review of health and social care in mind, I've been approached by constituents who've raised concerns about continuity of care for children moving into adulthood. Aneurin Bevan Local Health Board tell me they're working with their five local authority partners in their area to try and move towards a pooled integrated service provision, but this has proven a challenge, partly because of the range of bodies, but also because of the often difficult transition into adulthood for children requiring continuity of care.

Would the First Minister therefore agree to a review of the 2012 children and young people continuing care guidance, issued by the Welsh Government? I think it needs updating in the light of social care delivered by local authorities and other partners, and therefore we can then make sure that those transitioning into adulthood have a good chance of continuity of care. 

Can I thank my colleague for that question? First of all, if he wishes to write to me with further details, I will look at the individual case more closely. Secondly, he asked particularly about the guidance. I can say that that process has begun. We are setting up a group to consider the provision of continuing care for children and young people, and to look to produce new guidance to replace the existing guidance, taking into account, of course, developments since then. 

First Minister, a key finding of the parliamentary review into health and social care found that there was a plethora of national boards overseeing work programmes outside of organisational structures, and a clear recommendation was that these boards should be streamlined in order to ensure more effective delivery of public services. Notwithstanding the changes that might be coming along to health and social services, this is a concern that has arisen in other areas of public services: there's lots of reporting, not so much doing.

Will you consider looking at a review to streamline the boards that we have throughout the whole of the public sector, to ensure that the collaboration boards that we do have in place, and the programme boards that we have in place, are effective and do work together really well, and to get rid of those that do not, so that we can really focus on delivering the transformation we all desperately need to see?  

Can I say that I'm aware, of course, that the review itself is a cross-party review? And I think the review deserves full consideration by all parties, with a full response. What I can say to her, though: she makes the point, obviously sensibly, that we want to see borders removed. I know that the review laid out a vision of seamless health and care without artificial boundaries between primary and secondary care, health and social care, and that is entirely consistent with what we want to see as well. So, getting that done is the next step in terms of considering what the review has found.

I drew to the attention of the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services the problem of ambulance taxis being cancelled at the very last moment—something that causes distress to patients who have been waiting a while to go to hospital. In a response I received on 8 January, the Cabinet Secretary said that he was disappointed to hear of these concerns, that a transformation programme is being implemented to make improvements in this area, and that collaboration with local government is part of the solution. But, when can I tell my constituents that they can expect to see this important part of the health service being stabilised, because to date, despite the programme, it's clear that it's not working?

Well, I will ask the Cabinet Secretary to write to the Member in order to ensure that a full response is given to his question.FootnoteLink

Information further to Plenary

First Minister, sadly we see the results when our health boards and local authorities fail to work together effectively: patients forced to stay in hospital far longer than necessary, or patients discharged without a care package in place. First Minister, I have been contacted by numerous elderly patients that have been left to fend for themselves after being discharged from hospital. What is your Government going to do to ensure that everyone who is discharged from hospital has adequate care in place during their recuperation?

That shouldn't happen, of course. It's a matter for all local authorities to ensure that doesn't happen. The integrated care fund is designed to ensure that the barriers that stop people leaving hospital in order to return home are reduced, and indeed removed.

I can say that the latest published figures on delayed transfers of care do record a reduction of 0.7 per cent in the number of delays across Wales, compared to the October 2017 period—and that total was 6 per cent down on the same period last year—and lower than the totals reported in the equivalent period in the preceding two years. To me, that's a sign that the integrated care fund and the money we have invested in that are having a positive effect on so many people's lives.