As part of this work we are seeing examples of flexible and enabling respite support, such as flexible outreach, and offering respite options beyond the traditional respite admission to a care home. At the same time, we see an increase in support for those who are in care homes or a hospital setting so that people affected by dementia receive personalised care and support no matter where they are. We have examples of work ongoing in care homes, which further strengthen that person-centred approach, and projects that support planned discharge from hospitals. 

In addition to the funding routed through the integrated care fund, Welsh Government support has been provided to the Welsh ambulance services trust. This includes establishment of a dementia team, training and awareness for champions, and the delivery of training for emergency service call takers. WAST has also been involved in establishing an all-Wales blue-light dementia working group, which will work together to share best practice. The aim is to ensure that all of WAST's staff who come into contact with people affected by dementia are trained to understand their needs and how to provide support. 

One of the ways in which the plan has helped move the dementia debate forward has been the recognition of the diverse needs of particular groups, for instance people with protected characteristics who may be living with dementia and people who may be able to understand only their first language as their condition progresses. The Welsh Language Commissioner and Alzheimer’s Society Cymru's recent report into Welsh language and dementia has made a number of recommendations and established a task and finish group to oversee these improvements. Welsh Government officials will sit on that group so we can consider any further work that is needed in this area. 

Public Health Wales’s 1000 Lives programme is also working with memory assessment services to agree standards and principles that each service will work towards as part of the dementia pathway. That includes pre-diagnosis, assessment period and post diagnosis support and intervention.

Driving the range of improvements we want to see as a result of the dementia action plan and associated additional investment is key. To that end, we've established a dementia oversight of implementation and impact group, which informs, oversees and monitors progress against the action laid out in the plan. I really am grateful to all members of this group, which includes service users and carers, people with the lived experience of living with and working with dementia, for their ongoing commitment and challenge. 

Having the right type of workforce is, of course, crucial in this area and we've established a learning and development sub-group, led by Social Care Wales, to establish an enabling workforce approach to dementia care here in Wales. This approach to learning and development will be centred on the principles of the 'Good Work' framework that I had the pleasure of launching in Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr. It puts individuals at the heart of learning and development and focuses upon compassionate practice. All of this is designed to improve care for people living with dementia, their families and their carers.

The dementia action plan signalled that we would create an all-Wales dementia allied health practitioner consultant post to help drive further improvement and to ensure that support and advice is available to health boards and local authorities on their improvement journeys. We've now completed all of the necessary preparatory work, and I'm pleased to confirm that we'll shortly begin the recruitment process for the post, and I expect the successful applicant to be in post by the end of this summer.

Finally, I’m pleased that the Welsh Government has committed to become a dementia-friendly organisation. Over 200 of our staff are already receiving training. It is important that Government helps to lead by example, in recognising our role as a major employer and the positive impact that can have on supporting colleagues, friends and our local communities who are living with dementia.

Given the strong partnership arrangements that we have in Wales I believe we're well placed to continue to create a society that positively supports those faced with a diagnosis of dementia. An ageing society means that the challenges in this area will increase but the first year of the dementia action plan has put in place many of the things that we think that we will need to respond effectively to those recognised challenges. Only by working together can we realise the shared vision for Wales to truly become a dementia-friendly nation.