Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014

The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 (SSWBA) was introduced on 1st April 2016 and provides a new legislative framework for care and support in Wales. It is aimed at improving the well-being of people who need care and support, and carers who need support, and for transforming the way in which services are commissioned and delivered. A number of core principles underpin the Act:

• Voice and control – putting the individual and their needs, at the center of their care, and giving them a voice in, and control over reaching the outcomes that help them achieve well-being
• Prevention and early intervention – increasing preventative services within the community to minimise the escalation of critical need
• Well-being – supporting people to achieve their own well-being and measuring the success of care and support
• Co-production – developing ways of working whereby practitioners and people work together as equal partners to plan and deliver care and support
• Cooperation, partnership and integration – improving the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery, providing coordinated, person centered care and support and enhancing outcomes and well-being

Part 9 of the Act requires local authorities and Local Health Boards (LHBs) to establish Regional Partnership Boards (RPBs) to manage and develop services to secure strategic planning and partnership working and to ensure effective services, care and support are in place to best meet the needs of their respective population. The Act also requires us to publish a Population Assessment for the area. The RPB in the Hywel Dda area is known as the West Wales Care Partnership.

The Population Assessment  provides a high level strategic analysis of the care and support needs and support needs of carers across West Wales. It assesses the extent to which those needs are currently being met and identifies where further improvement and development is needed to ensure that individuals get the services they need and are supported in living fulfilled lives.  

The West Wales Care Partnership has also developed an Area Plan 2018-23 ‘Delivering Change Together’ which sets out how the Health Board will work in partnership to respond to the challenges highlighted in the Population Assessment. It includes a series of strategic commitments which the Partnership will take forward over the next five years to support the transformation and integration of care and support in the Region.

A Healthier West Wales Transformation Program

The West Wales Care Partnership has developed three programs of work which respond to the Welsh Governments publication ‘A Healthier Wales’.  The local program is called ‘A Healthier West Wales’ and seeks to implement actions in three key areas:

• Proactive, technology enabled care – implementing a new model of self-help and proactive care enabled by TEC, based on a model operating in Bilbao, Spain which has proven impact on the well-being of individuals and reduced the number of people needing longer term or acute care
• Fast-tracked consistent integration – developing locality based models of support which provide integrated and multi-disciplinary teams that provide community based crisis response services enabling patients to be seen, treated and receive intensive support at home.
• Creating connections for all – based on intergenerational approaches that foster and nurture connections to alleviate loneliness and isolation, including a West Wales is Kind campaign, enhanced community connectors and and digital skills platforms for connecting communities.

Where can I find out more information?

For more information please visit

 For more information, visit the West Wales Care Partnership website

Welsh Government's Essentials Guide