Amy and Christy from Caerphilly People First attended the **All Wales People First National Council meeting on 10th and 11th March at Galeri Caernarfon.🚆 We travelled by train from Cardiff with other staff and members from All Wales People First, and the journey was smooth.
🗓️ Day 1
We started by going through the minutes from the last meeting.
We checked the actions that had been completed and asked questions if anything was unclear.
👨💼 Joe Powell, Chief Executive of All Wales People First, gave us an update about the important work they are doing across Wales.
🗣️ Speaking up for Caerphilly
Amy spoke on behalf of our members.
She shared concerns about:
💻 GP appointments moving online
📱 The new e-consultation system for booking appointments.
Amy explained that some people with learning disabilities may find online systems difficult to use.
👏 We are very proud of Amy for speaking up and sharing our members’ views.
💬 National Council Review
All the representatives had a chance to talk about:
✅ What is working well
⚠️ What could be improved
There were really good discussions and lots of positive ideas shared.
🗓️ Day 2
We were joined on Zoom by the Senedd Engagement Team who gave a presentation about voting.
🗳️ Voting is important because:
- Your voice matters
- You can help choose who makes decisions
- It helps create change in your community
📅 Remember: Elections are in May.
🏡 Homes Not Hospitals
Joe also shared an update about the Homes Not Hospitals campaign.
This campaign is about making sure people with learning disabilities can live in their homes and communities with the right support, instead of staying in hospital for long periods.
Everyone agreed this is really important work.
📱 Sharing Social Media Ideas
We also had some group discussions and shared ideas for good social media posts.
It was great to see everyone:
😊 Taking part
💡 Sharing ideas
🗣️ Talking about their lived experiences
🚶♀️ A Lovely Walk Around Caernarfon
We also enjoyed a lovely morning walk around Caernarfon. It is a beautiful place with lots of history. We saw the famous Caernarfon Castle, a huge medieval castle built over 700 years ago by King Edward I. The castle is a very important part of Welsh history and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 🏰 It was great to see such an amazing place while we were there.
It was also really nice to Catch up with other People First members, and spend time with the All Wales People First team. Thank you to everyone for a friendly, positive and productive National Council meeting!
