Written question WQ91341
- Asked by
- Rhys ab OwenIndependent
- To be answered by
- Minister for Health and Social Services
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 8 days
Question
What is the Welsh Government doing to promote preventative medicine, especially for older people facing frailty, in light of the Chief Medical Officer’s Annual Report 2023?
Answer
Answered by Minister for Health and Social Services
A Healthier Wales is our route map for improving health and social care in Wales. Published in 2018, with the actions refreshed in 2021, it sets out our vision that everyone in Wales should have longer healthier and happier lives and be able to remain active and independent, in their own homes, for as long as possible. A Healthier Wales is underpinned by a series of core values and design principles that place health and wellbeing, better prevention, self-management, building resilient communities and addressing health inequities at its heart.
Our legislation also embeds a commitment to prevention, early intervention, co-production and shared voice and control, for example, through the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) 2014 Act.
To further embed this approach, the Strategy for an Ageing Society, published in 2021, sets out the action we will take to prepare for the future. It considers the many things that influence how we age, such as health and social care, transport and even the way we socialise, work and care for others. The strategy aims to change the way we think about ageing. By acknowledging and valuing the contributions of all older people in Wales, we can work across generations to create an age friendly Wales.
The 2023 Chief Medical Officer for Wales’ report recommends the need to prioritise older people, those living with frailty and those with co-morbidities, with an emphasis placed on anticipatory approaches, upstream prevention, and primary, community and social care working together in an integrated way, so people get the right care at the right time in the right place.
This approach, and those of A Healthier Wales and The Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) 2014 Act can be seen in many aspects of our work, most recently in the publication of our Integrated Quality Statement for Older People and People Living with Frailty. This sets out clear aims and quality-of-life outcomes for this population, with prevention, anticipatory and proactive management of care and support at its core.