Carers Wales supports the Welsh Government’s announcement to invest a further £30 million pounds in community care to reduce pressure on hospitals but has concerns that any investment without co-production with the direct users and their unpaid carers will lead to this opportunity being wasted.
All elements of our health and social care system – health, social care and unpaid care – have been under immeasurable stress for many months so any investment is positive.
Carers Wales is particularly pleased to see a concentration of this funding going into reablement services that should lead to fewer readmissions to hospitals, support to create collaborative approaches to put in packages for people in the most need, and investment in specialist palliative care that will support whole families.
However, these services need to be developed and enacted with the user and their unpaid carers in mind.
This must mean consultation with service users and carers throughout this process and ensuring realistic expectations from all sides are agreed upon before this funding is invested.
Carers Wales will be monitoring for any indications that this investment is positively impacting unpaid carers’ rights in hospital discharge or in choosing whether they are ‘willing and able’ to provide unpaid care. Many carers will have read about more care at home and see this as health and social care trying to put more burden on unpaid carers.
This investment is an opportunity to get more people back home and increase the flow through the hospital process, but it must do this without impinging on carers rights and their quality of life
Mae Gofalwyr Cymru yn cefnogi cyhoeddiad Llywodraeth Cymru i fuddsoddi £30 miliwn pellach mewn gofal cymunedol i leihau'r pwysau ar ysbytai ond mae ganddo bryderon y bydd unrhyw fuddsoddiad heb gydgynhyrchu gyda'r defnyddwyr uniongyrchol a'u gofalwyr di-dâl yn arwain at wastraffu'r cyfle hwn.
Mae Gofalwyr Cymru yn arbennig o falch o weld crynhoad o’r cyllid hwn yn mynd i wasanaethau ailalluogi a ddylai arwain at lai o aildderbyn i ysbytai, cymorth i greu dulliau cydweithredol o roi pecynnau i’r bobl sydd â’r angen mwyaf, a buddsoddiad mewn gofal lliniarol arbenigol a fydd yn cefnogi teuluoedd cyfan.
Fodd bynnag, mae angen datblygu a gweithredu'r gwasanaethau hyn gyda'r defnyddiwr a'u gofalwyr di-dâl mewn golwg.
Rhaid i hyn olygu ymgynghori â defnyddwyr gwasanaeth a gofalwyr drwy gydol y broses hon a sicrhau y cytunir ar ddisgwyliadau realistig o bob ochr cyn buddsoddi'r cyllid hwn.
Bydd Gofalwyr Cymru yn monitro unrhyw arwyddion bod y buddsoddiad hwn yn cael effaith gadarnhaol ar hawliau gofalwyr di-dâl wrth ryddhau o'r ysbyty neu wrth ddewis a ydynt yn 'fodlon ac yn gallu' i ddarparu gofal di-dâl. Bydd llawer o ofalwyr wedi darllen am fwy o ofal yn y cartref ac yn gweld hyn fel iechyd a gofal cymdeithasol yn ceisio rhoi mwy o faich ar ofalwyr di-dâl.
Mae’r buddsoddiad hwn yn gyfle i gael mwy o bobl yn ôl adref a chynyddu’r llif drwy’r broses ysbyty, ond rhaid iddo wneud hyn heb amharu ar hawliau gofalwyr ac ansawdd eu bywyd.