All Wales People First National Council

At the end of July Ffion Poole and Christy Taylor attended the two-day residential National Council meeting in Bangor, North Wales.  One of the issues we discussed was Talkback, the newsletter of All Wales People First.  National Council members voted on whether Talkback should continue being produced as a paper copy, or if people would prefer a video podcast of news, which they could watch on YouTube. The result of this vote was 71% for a paper copy and 29% for a video podcast.

Also at the meeting were Mandy Jenkins and Leanne Hawker from the Welsh Ambulance Service, who delivered a presentation about the work the ambulance service does to include people with learning disabilities.  We also talked about the number of ambulances and rapid response units that are allocated across the seven health boards in Wales.

We also received a presentation from Daron Owens of Bangor University, who gave a talk on the Social Services Health and Well-being act, which came out in 2016.  The act provides the legal framework for improving the well-being of people who need care and support, and also carers who need support.  Daron has been researching the impact of the act and shared some of the findings he has made.