Welsh Assembly meets to debate care report

2010-01-31 19:19:54

The Welsh Assembly met on 26 January 2010 to debate the country’s latest care and social services report, which indicates that urgent action should be taken to improve falling standards. Issues raised in the Care & Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) annual report include widespread inconsistency in the quality and availability of social care services across the country. Although some areas are showing improvement, Deputy Minister for Social Services, Gwenda Thomas, admitted in the debate that Welsh local authorities face considerable challenges in improving the services they offer. Conservative Assembly Member Jonathan Morgan called for an external review of the role and responsibilities of the CSSIW and questioned its ability to effectively inspect care homes. He comments: ‘Many of those now carrying out inspections within CSSIW were people who used to inspect social services. They may have years of experience of inspecting social services but they are not very good at inspecting care homes, where a lot of our vulnerable elderly people may be looked after. This simply isn’t good enough. We must ensure that the very best care providers in the sector are maintained and the worst and repeat offenders are weeded out and driven out of the market.’ You can watch the debate online at the BBC website.