Weekly Round Up with Lance

06 March 2026

Hi Everyone,

I’ve taken over for this week’s message and I would like to celebrate our adult social care services who make such a difference in the lives of our residents every single day. 

From supporting someone through a major life transition, to creating moments of comfort and therapeutic connection in our care homes, there is so much to be proud of and I wanted to take the opportunity to highlight this area of our service and reflect on that impact.

I’d like to begin with some well-deserved recognition for our council run residential care teams following some fantastic inspection reports.

Last year, Cartref Porthceri and Ty Dyfan were both inspected and received excellent feedback with a solid ‘good’ rating from CIW. Those outcomes recognised strong leadership, the care and commitment of staff and a truly person-centred approaches that promote dignity, wellbeing and respect. 

Southway Residential Home also achieved Good ratings across the board in its latest inspection with inspectors noting how residents felt genuinely listened to, respected, and involved in decisions about their care. 

Thank you to every single colleague who has been involved in these recent inspections - you are the reason our residents feel safe, supported and live with dignity in residential care, and the compassion and care you bring to your roles really does make all the difference. 

Along a similar theme, Jason Bennett - our Head of Adult Services - recently appeared on the Age Matters podcast by Age Cymru, where he talked about how our social care teams can enable the best possible transition into care homes through positive and empowering conversations with older people and their families.

Once someone has moved into a care setting, the focus turns to supporting their day-to-day wellbeing. You may have seen the recent feature on ITV Wales News about therapy dolls being donated to our care homes. 

The dolls were given to residents Ty Dewi Sant, Cartref Porthceri, Southway and Ty Dyfan care homes by the GMB union and provide a number of therapeutic benefits to residents, especially those living with dementia.

During an on-camera interview with reporter Megan Boot, Cartref Porthceri Manager Laura Davies said: “There are actually so many benefits to using the dolls. In the earlier stages of dementia, they can be very social, they encourage conversation, bring back memories, and prompt reminiscing. People start talking about their own children, what they did when they were younger, family days out - all sorts of things, it really helps with social interaction.”

She added: “As dementia progresses, the dolls can become a source of comfort, particularly for people who may struggle to express how they’re feeling. Having something to hold can be very reassuring.

"It also gives people a sense of purpose - they feel like they’re caring for and nurturing something, which can be very meaningful. That feeling can help reduce anxiety and support mental health.”

We are very grateful to GMB for this thoughtful donation and also thank you to Laura for taking the time to speak to ITV about the therapy dolls and the impact that they have for our residents.

This news coverage by one of Wales’ leading broadcasters is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our care homes.

Of course most people we work with in social care are supported at home. The Vale are supporting more and more people every year to live independently. 

We now support 1048 people with home care which is a rise of 16% since 2019. This is largely because of the increasing number of older people who require care and support. 

Every week these people receive over 17,000 hours of care – this is a huge undertaking and I am also grateful to the many independent providers we work with who help this be achieved. 

Commissioning, brokering  and monitoring this volume of support is a huge undertaking and we are really fortunate to have colleagues in our Commissioning and Finance teams that enable that to happen so quickly and efficiently for our residents.

Enhancing the experiences of our older residents - whether they are living independently or supported by our adult services - is central to our vision to help create an age-friendly Vale. It was particularly encouraging to see the Vale’s 50+ Forum Radio Show was also recently highlighted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a leading age-friendly initiative.

The case-study feature published by the WHO celebrates the Forum’s role in giving older people a platform to share their voices, stay connected, and shape their communities together. 

Staying connected is certainly a key theme in creating an age-friendly Vale and supporting wellbeing at every stage of life.

Another example of this is the Flying Start Stay and Play sessions at Ty Dewi Sant Care Home, which have gone from strength to strength since they began piloting the sessions last year.

Bringing young children, their families and care home residents together creates joyful intergenerational moments and show how meaningful those connections can be for everyone involved.

Finally, thank you to staff across all departments for your efforts this week – they are sincerely appreciated.

I hope you have a relaxing and enjoyable weekend.

Thanks,

Lance