Increasing Carer Engagement at a Regional Level

We have been given the opportunity to explore how much Carers know about their Regional Partnership Boards - where most decisions on health and social care service delivery, funding and monitoring will now be made. We're interested in exploring the best ways to engage Carers in the community with the work of the Boards, and particularly the Independent Carer members that each Board has. All Local Authorities and Health Boards have started to develop carer strategies and engagement plans with some success but also some challenge - so this is a chance to help shape them further and come up with solutions to improve communication methods that suit you as carers.

The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 created Regional Partnership Boards (RPBs). The purpose of the boards is to drive the strategic regional delivery of social services in close collaboration with health. It provides for partnership arrangements between local authorities and local health boards for the discharge of their functions. It also provides Welsh Ministers with regulation making powers under which they can require the creation of formal partnership arrangements and the use of pooled funds. Membership of a RPB must include one elected member of a local authority, a member of the local health board, director of social services, chief exec of the health board, a third sector representative, a representative for care providers and most importantly to you, a carer representative. RPB's were created as a way for services and communities to provide integrated health and social services for those that need them, to Improve outcomes and the well-being of people in the community by designing services that meet the needs identified and to help manage and develop services to secure strategic planning and partnership working between local authorities, local health boards and across all community areas, to ensure effective services, care and support are in place to best meet the needs of their respective population. People who use services, including carers, must be actively involved and engaged in the work of the Regional Partnership Boards and the role of the lay member will be to ensure the voice of people is heard.

We would appreciate your time to fill out a short survey so we can gather your thoughts on how well you feel you are engaged within your region. We would lie to know how much you already know about services provided in your region, what are some of the challenges to engaging and what changes you would like to see.

If you have any particular case studies or experiences you would like to share in further details, please contact Grace the project coordinator for this work at grace@allwalesforum.org.uk