Mark Drakeford was presented with a 2024 Wales Care Award, at a celebration
at the Senedd in Cardiff to mark the 30th anniversary of Care Forum Wales,
which represents more than 450 care homes, nursing homes and other social
care providers.
The Special Recognition award was given to the former First Minister by
Mario Kreft MBE, the chair of Care Forum Wales, who hailed Professor
Drakeford as a man of “great integrity and intellect”.
According to Mr Kreft, the pandemic had been the worst possible nightmare
for the social care sector because the virus was particularly dangerous to
frail and vulnerable people.
Through the First Minister’s leadership, Wales had adopted a distinctively
more considered and cautious approach.
He had recognised the particular challenges faced by social care even before
the pandemic struck, describing the sector as being economically “fragile”.
As a result, the financial support given to care homes, nursing homes and
domiciliary care providers in Wales during Covid had been much better than
in other parts of the UK.
Since then he had championed the introduction of the Real Living Wage for
the frontline staff who had risen magnificently the unprecedented challenges
posed by the pandemic, often putting their own lives on the line.
Mr Kreft said: “Mark Drakeford has been a long term supporter of the sector,
right back to the early days of devolution when he was a Special Advisor to
the then First Minister, Rhodri Morgan.
“As a former Professor of Social Policy and Applied Social Sciences at
Cardiff University, he was uniquely well qualified to understand the
challenges facing the sector when he was elected to represent Cardiff West
and later serve in a number of ministerial positions, including health and
local government, before becoming the leader of our nation in 2018.
“That understanding and empathy was absolutely crucial when the world was
turned upside down by Covid-19 and his leadership was a shining light that
plotted a reassuringly cautious path through the dark days of the pandemic.
“One thing that made a big difference was that the Welsh Government led by
Mark Drakeford sought input and guidance from the sector.
“We had regular dialogue including weekly meetings with the Ministers of
Health and Social Services so the level of access we had with the decision
makers was far greater than any other part of the UK.
“There was always a sense that the First Minister was striving to do the
right things, in the right way at the right time, with his avuncular style
underpinned by a steely determination.
“He consistently ensured that the social care sector had the necessary level
of support to stay financially afloat as the virus swept through Wales.
“While he was First Minister, we’ve also had the Real Living Wage paid to
care workers, which is another thing we have been campaigning for at Care
Forum Wales.
“Importantly, he always recognised that social care has provided a scaffold
to support the NHS without which it would be unable to function.
“I feel certain that history will treat him kindly and he will be remembered
as one of the heroes of Covid.”
Mr Kreft added it was also a very important day in the history of Care Forum
Wales because the 30th anniversary was an opportunity to recognise the
organisation’s achievements in supporting members to provide high quality
social care and dignity for all.
He said: “We share best practice and resources, we work to influence policy
makers and we keep members up to date on legislation as well as providing
training for our members and hosting the annual Wales Care Awards.
“We provide the sector with a single, professional voice with which to speak
on social care policy and the collective clout to campaign for fair,
realistic and sustainable fees for providers.”
According to Mr Drakeford, he was very grateful to receive such a special
award.
He said: “From the point of view of government can I say how important it is
to have an authoritative body that speaks on behalf of a sector, especially
a sector in Wales that is so varied, has so many components in it and can
sometimes be quite hard to hear the messages that the sector would want to
convey.
“It’s why we have always been so lucky in Wales to have Care Forum because
it has the authority to speak to government on behalf of those things that
concern the people who work in the sector, that matter to the people they
look after.
“That’s why Care Forum has always been such a central partner for us in the
work we try to do. For that we are incredibly grateful here in the Senedd.”
The reception was sponsored by Lesley Griffiths, the Senedd Member for
Wrexham, who is also the Cabinet Secretary for Culture and Social Justice.
She said: “For 30 years, Care Forum Wales has championed the social care
sector, offering a voice to its members whose primary role is to look after
some of the most vulnerable people in society.
“I am proud to have sponsored this very special event in the Senedd and I’m
pleased Mark’s outstanding, compassionate and selfless leadership,
particularly during such difficult times, has been recognised.”
