3. Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on the Dementia Action Plan

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:43 pm on 14 May 2019.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Vikki Howells Vikki Howells Labour 3:43, 14 May 2019

Thank you, Minister, for your statement here today. As the number of people living with dementia in Wales increases, it's so important that we get this provision right. I notice firstly in your statement the reference to the increased number of dementia friends and dementia friendly communities. My office, along with the offices of many other Assembly Members, have undergone that training and I think it's really important in terms of the support that we offer to our communities. What can be done to encourage other such community support services to engage with the training that the Alzheimer's Society offers?

For my other questions, I want to focus on some interesting things that I have seen out and about on constituency visits. Firstly, I recently met with the occupational therapy team at Ysbyty Cwm Cynon to discuss their work supporting people who have recently been diagnosed with dementia and how they enable them to regain their confidence and to live independently. I joined one of those OTs on a house visit in Penywaun, and had such really positive feedback from the person being helped about how the intervention had really changed his life. So, what can be done to ensure that other areas, both within Cwm Taf and further afield, learn from this kind of approach?

I also recently visited the award-winning virtual ward at St John's medical practice in Aberdare, which is a shining example of a multidisciplinary approach. And this kind of approach is so useful to supporting those living with dementia, as well as many other conditions. So, what can the Welsh Government do to help enable and incentivise such partnership working in GP clusters to assist those living with dementia to receive the very best multidisciplinary care?

And finally, I also visited Ysguborwen Care Home in Llwydcoed to see a fantastic project that was being delivered by the Wales Co-operative Centre, which allowed residents to utilise modern technology, such as iPads, screens and interactive tables, in order to engage with hobbies that they'd held all their lives or to look at old photographs that really re-jigged those deep parts of the memory and brought such happiness to them. What more can Welsh Government do to encourage care homes to utilise the very powerful benefits of modern technology in order to help those who live with dementia to maintain those pre-existing hobbies and interests that can add so much to their quality of life?