A Pembrokeshire project, the first of its kind in Wales, which aims to revolutionise the way people receive care in their own homes is now providing more than 2,100 hours of care a week to 650 clients.

Since 2020 PLANED, the community development charity based in Narberth, has been working with partners in the public and third sectors, to begin a new way of enhancing choice and control around the care people receive at home.

The Catalysts for Care project began in Pembrokeshire just before the first Covid lockdown in March 2020, when coordinator Lee James was appointed to deliver this first project of its type in Wales.

Despite the initial challenges, the last three years has seen huge outputs delivered within Pembrokeshire where the project has enabled and supported individuals who wish to live and work within their communities to set-up micro enterprises delivering care and support to people wanting to remain in their own homes.

It enables the micro enterprises to deliver the type of care with continuity that clients and their families value, building a real understanding and relationship with the people they support. It also allows them more flexibility and a better work life balance.

More than 75 micro enterprises in Pembrokeshire now deliver an average of over 2,100 hours of support per week to 650 clients currently in their own homes. They enable and deliver a broad range of services that include home help, companionship, and personal care, as well as broader support packages as required.

“To date, we have seen many former nurses, social care workers, and others with a passion for delivering care and support, engage with the project to see if they would be eligible to progress and become established as a micro enterprise,” said a project spokesperson.

“A recent survey found that within the current cohort of operational micro enterprises, almost 50 per cent each have over 16 years of experience within the health and care sector, with a further 25 per cent between five and 15 years direct experience.

“Micro-enterprises say that they value the flexibility and better work life balance that being your own boss brings, and almost a third surveyed said that they would not be working in the health and social care sector if the option of micro-enterprise was not available.”

PLANED’s directory of micro enterprises is available online and is continually updated. A new interactive online enquiry tool to make it even more efficient is currently being trialled for further rollout.

The success of the project in Pembrokeshire since 2020 has now seen PLANED work with both Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion Councils respectively, to deliver the project across the Hywel Dda University Health Board geographic footprint, to provide a clear joined up approach.

In Carmarthenshire more than 25 new micro enterprises have already been set up, enabling and supporting clients in their own homes across the county.

In Ceredigion it is hoped that the project will begin roll out in January next year.

If you want to find out more about the project – either from the perspective of becoming a Micro Enterprise, or how to access the services promoted by Micro Enterprises in west Wales, visit planed.org.uk/projects/catalysts-for-care, linked above.