Powys County Council has received a £7.1m health and social care integration boost.

This investment represents the final year of guaranteed support from Welsh Government's Regional Integration Fund and, as well as investment in testing new and innovative ways of working, will help successful projects move towards mainstream funding where appropriate.

In a joint statement Dr Carl Cooper, interim chair, and co-vice chairs, Councillor Pete Roberts and Clair Swales of Powys Regional Partnership Board said: ‘The 2026-27 Delivery and Resource Plan establishes a set of priorities and initiatives to further strengthen integrated health and social care in the county.

‘It will see us continue our shift towards prevention, supporting people's independence and flexible delivery, while planning for the future of programmes beyond the current funding commitment.

‘It also emphasises the importance of partnership working and continuous improvement of all health and social care as we look to deliver cost effective services, across a dispersed rural population.'

The decision by the county's Regional Partnership Board will see money directed towards: children and young people; prevention and early help; helping people return home from hospital/out-of-county placements; integrated, whole system working; and short-term cost avoidance and system enablers (eg workforce).

The plans are designed to build on health and social care initiatives in the past four years, including:

• emotional health and wellbeing support to 3,600 children
• welfare checks, help after falls, and support with daily tasks in the home to elderly people on more than 14,000 occasions (2024-25)
• advice on careers in health and social care given to 5,500 learners.

In addition, responses by the home support services in East Radnor and Builth and Llanwrtyd Wells to emergency call outs last year (2024-25), eliminated the need for ambulances to attend the home of an elderly Powys resident on almost 280 occasions.

Lee Peart is editor of Hemming Group’s Healthcare Management magazine.