THE WELSH GOVERNMENT has accepted pay recommendations from independent review bodies for public sector workers, including NHS staff, teachers, and civil servants, for the 2024/25 financial year. The decision will see doctors and dentists receive a 6% pay rise, alongside a £1,000 consolidated uplift for junior doctors, while teachers and NHS staff will get 5.5%.

First Minister Eluned Morgan acknowledged the importance of public sector workers, describing them as the “backbone” of Wales. She emphasised the government’s commitment to fair pay while recognising public demand for improvements in services, particularly in the NHS and education. Cabinet Secretary for Finance Rebecca Evans highlighted the challenges of balancing fair pay with financial pressures.

The announcement has been cautiously welcomed by unions such as BMA Cymru Wales. Dr Oba Babs-Osibodu and Dr Peter Fahey of the BMA’s Welsh Junior Doctors Committee praised the 6% pay award as a step forward, but reiterated their calls for full pay restoration after years of real-term wage erosion. Meanwhile, Dr Stephen Kelly, chair of the Welsh Consultants Committee, recognised the progress made but expressed concerns that the settlement did not fully address years of undervaluation.

The response from general practitioners (GPs) has been more critical. Dr Gareth Oelmann, chair of the BMA Cymru Wales GP Committee, pointed out that while the pay increases were positive, they do not address deeper funding issues within general practice. He highlighted that over 100 GP surgeries had closed since 2012 due to financial constraints, and called for urgent GMS contract negotiations to tackle these systemic problems.

This latest announcement comes after significant industrial action by healthcare professionals earlier this year, with junior doctors leading the charge for fairer wages. The strikes, which resulted in widespread disruption to services, underscored the growing frustration within the medical community over years of pay stagnation.

While the pay increases for 2024/25 represent progress, the BMA and other unions remain steadfast in their pursuit of full pay restoration. They argue that, despite recent gains, doctors and healthcare professionals have seen their wages eroded in real terms over the past decade.

Beyond healthcare, teachers and other public sector workers have also benefited from the pay awards. Teachers will receive a 5.5% increase, reflecting the Welsh Government’s broader commitment to rewarding essential workers.

However, the Welsh Government faces the challenge of maintaining these pay awards while navigating broader economic constraints. Public finances remain under pressure, and there are concerns about how sustainable these pay settlements will be in the long term.

As the Welsh Government moves forward with these pay reforms, further negotiations with unions will be crucial to ensuring the long-term viability of public services in Wales. Despite the positive reception of the pay awards, there are still significant hurdles ahead, particularly in general practice and other underfunded areas of the public sector.

The pay increases mark a step towards resolving disputes, but the Welsh Government and public sector unions acknowledge that much work remains to address long-standing concerns around pay, working conditions, and service delivery.

Responding to the Welsh Government’s acceptance of the independent Pay Review Bodies recommendation of an above current inflation rate pay increase for NHS staff, director of the Welsh NHS Confederation Darren Hughes said:

“Health leaders will welcome the confirmation from the Welsh Government that those staff working so hard across the health service will benefit from an above inflation pay rise, in line with the UK Government offer to staff in England.

“NHS staff work tirelessly day in day out for patients and are the lifeblood of the health service, so this decision should be greeted with renewed optimism. Commitments to updating pay points and structures, as well as the intent to negotiate a fair and proportionate pay uplift across primary care, will also be welcomed.

“Industrial action has taken a real toll on the health service in recent years, not least on patients due to the cancellation of appointments and operations. We hope today’s news takes us another step towards avoiding disruption to health services from industrial action.

“However, it is crucial that the pay award is funded in full by both the UK and Welsh governments as the NHS continues to work hard at recruiting and retaining staff and driving down waiting lists against the backdrop of an already very tight financial position.

“Although NHS leaders understand the financial uncertainties faced by the Welsh Government, they would welcome an earlier decision in relation to future pay awards.

“NHS organisations will now work hard to implement the back-dated pay award, so staff can receive the well-deserved pay uplift as soon as is practicable.”

RCN Wales Executive Director Helen Whyley said: “The RCN today welcomes the Welsh government announcement that it will implement the recommendations of the independent pay review body (PRB) for NHS Agenda for Change staff in Wales. Nursing staff have been eagerly awaiting the Welsh government decision since early July, which applies from April 2024. 

“The PRB recommendations acknowledge the tireless dedication and essential role of nursing staff, but investment in NHS staff is imperativeto fully reflect their contributions and to make the profession attractive to future nurses.

“Last year the Welsh government made a commitment to pay restoration for NHS staff. Now they must decide how to achieve that over time. The RCN expects to see a clear route to fair pay restoration – making up for a very serious loss of earnings in the last 15 years.

“Stagnant salaries at a time of spiralling prices have forced too many to leave nursing and deterred others from joining. Fair pay is vital to recruiting and retaining nursing staff, to filling the thousands of vacant nurse jobs and giving people the care they deserve.

“Nurses are the ever-present, safety critical workforce across the whole of health and care. Our wages do not reflect that, and still won’t after today. We will be pushing the Welsh government to show us their plans for improving NHS pay – it is vital to recruit and retain nursing staff. We will consult with our members on whether they see today’s statement as enough of a start on this pay journey.”

PEMBROKE Dock’s Anchorage day centre is to close in less than two months, following a decision by senior councillors today, September 9.

The county council is currently changing care provision for older adults and those with learning disabilities, and fears have been raised recently that Pembroke Dock’s Anchorage day care centre is to close.

A series of engagement events have taken place at The Anchorage recently, outlining the reasons and the options in continued service, part of which is much-needed building maintenence costs at the centre, set against a background of increasingly tight budgets, councillors have heard.

The Anchorage Day Care Centre in Pembroke Dock has been a “safe and happy place” for adults with learning difficulties and additional needs for decades.

In more recent years it has expanded to support elderly dementia sufferers.

At the July meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, members received a petition calling for the council to keep the centre open, with an impassioned plea by Peter Welsh for the centre to remain open, saying of the service users: “They are a family, a happy group of individuals that enjoy being together in safety at their home, the Anchorage.

“They are effectively voiceless, we will be their voice.

“It’s an injustice; inexcusable targeting of the vulnerable. Please don’t use these vulnerable individuals as pawns for a money-saving gain.

“We may lose this battle today, but I hope not; they need your support. Just imagine if it was your son or daughter or grandchild being put through this uncertainty that is affecting their lives; you would feel the same sense of anger as us.”

Despite a plea by local councillors Tony Wilcox and Brian Hall to give the centre a breathing space ahead of a potential move to an as-yet-unbuilt facility in Pembroke, the matter was brought to the September meeting of the council’s Cabinet.

In a report presented at the September 9 Cabinet meeting by Cllr Tessa Hodgson, Cabinet Member for Social Care and Safeguarding, it was recommended members “close the Anchorage Day Centre with effect from November 1, 2024,” along with, as part of wider changes in the service, establishing social enterprise models in the Crymych’s Bro Preseli and Narberth’s Lee Davies Centre with effect from April 1, 2025.

The recommendation, one of three presented to Cabinet, said it “will provide a longer time period to establish social enterprise models in two of the three centres, ensuring time for scrutiny from members and further engagement from families and users in the final model,” adding: “The model will further strengthen the links between PCC and the third Sector.

“The Anchorage Day Centre would be closed in [two of the three options], but the timescales set out would provide a transition to a new service before the winter and ensure that service users would not need unplanned placement if the building does require emergency closure.

“Service users at the Anchorage have all received support from senior social workers to review alternative placements and all have chosen options should the decision be made to close the Anchorage. Several additional options to retain services within the Pembroke Dock area have been included mitigating journey time to Haverfordwest.

“Meadow Park [in Haverfordwest] has capacity to support all of the current service users from the Anchorage and has the capacity and skill set to provide a single point of excellence. South Wales Advocacy will be approached once a decision has been made to support service users.

“Whilst Option 2 would not secure all of the budget savings required of adult services in 2024/25 it will ensure full recovery next year and reduce the need to enact any further budget savings which would require loss of staff and additional redundancy costs.”

Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services Cllr Rhys Sinnett said: “It’s a sensitive issue  and one that really – if I was a parent, I would want to protect my young person or adult as much as possible – I guess part of all that is about the peer group or the friendship group that they have; wherever possible we must seek to offer something that preserves that as much as possible and is as close to wherever they live as possible.”

Council leader Cllr Jon Harvey stressed the need to keep the “cohort of Anchorage users together,” later quoting the reasoning behind the choice of options, as outlined in the report to members.

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Hodgson said: “In Pembrokeshire, we want older people and people with disabilities to have a range of meaningful things to do, in their local communities that provides purpose, connection and where appropriate, progression.

“We have at every step tried to balance the needs of the service users and their families with the requirement for change and we will continue to support all service users as we go through this process.

“We have worked hard to identify alternative and suitable provision for all service users and put the direct bus in place from the Anchorage to Meadow Park after listening to feedback.

“I wish to emphasise that no service users will be left without provision following the decision here today and we will continue to work closely with everyone to ensure a positive outcome for all day opportunities users.”

COUNCIL initiatives to reduce waiting times for older people needing social care in Wales are beginning to bear fruit and, in another welcome development, the surge in demand for care post pandemic has now reduced, finds an Age Cymru report Why Are We Still Waiting? (WAWSW) 

This is Age Cymru’s third annual report on delays in accessing social care in Wales for people aged 55 and over.

However, despite these welcome developments nearly one in four (24%) of older people are still waiting more than 30 days for a social care assessment, with the longest wait being 639 days. While one in six (16%) are waiting more than 30 days for a social care package to be implemented. 

The challenge facing local authorities in Wales remains high as the report found that individual older people have increasingly complex needs and as the population ages service providers will have to continue to adapt their services.

WAWSW found that communication from councils with older people and their families must also improve as there were instances where people were not given the right information when they first approached social care which meant they didn’t get the appropriate help when they needed it. 

The research also discovered poor communication between hospital and social care staff which meant that some older people remained in hospital longer than needed, making an already difficult time for older people and their families unduly stressful.

And poor communication was found to be the source of frustration for many families trying to get to grips with the charging arrangements for social care within the challenging environment of a cost-of-living crisis. There is concern that some older people may be paying above the amount allowed under the Welsh Government’s Fairer Charging arrangements. 

Disappointingly plans to provide better help for unpaid carers have struggled to progress and initiatives continue to be hampered by a lack of long term, sustainable funding.  

The report’s author, Age Cymru Policy Officer Helen Twidle, welcomed the efforts made by councils tackling the challenge of providing social care to an ageing population with complex care needs but called for significant improvements in many areas.

Helen Twidle says “Local authorities need to focus on those individuals who are waiting more than 30 days to have a care package in place as a person’s mental and physical health can deteriorate rapidly while they wait for support.

“There also needs to be a focus on how information is communicated to older people and their families, especially around the complexities of charging.

“Regional Partnership Boards, local authorities and third sector services need to work better together to improve the availability of earlier intervention and prevention support for older people.” 

Minister for Social Care, Dawn Bowden, said: “I am pleased that waiting times for older people needing social care in Wales have fallen over the last 12 months, however we are aware there is much more to do.

“We remain committed to improving outcomes for older people through early intervention and integrated care in the community, with more than £145 million provided to local authorities, health boards and third sector organisations through the Regional Integration Fund. Our investment into creating Age Friendly communities is also enabling more older people to be active in their local communities and to access a range of healthy ageing activities. 

“We will continue to work with Age Cymru to understand the experiences of older people accessing social care and to ensure they can access the support they need when they need it.”