TAKING CARE OF WALES

The Care Forum Wales Team

The Care Forum Wales team act as a contact point for member’s enquiries and give specialist advice on key issues. Led by Chairman Shokat Babul and Chief Executive Mario Kreft, the organisation represents the care sector in Wales and those who work within it.

Council Members

Wendy Abbs, Shokat Babul, Mary Cottrell, Maureen Curren, Rob Davis, Mike Davies, Janet Eagles, John Endacott, Jeff Evans, Steve Ford, Karma Foulkes, Allison Glencross, Avnish Goyal, David Hunter, Richard James, Margaret Jenkins, Jacqui Jones, Mike Kemp, Mario Kreft, Priscilla Llewelyn, Jim Richardson, Mike Slator, Norman Smith, Brian West

Team Members

	Shokat Babul – Chair Shokat Babul is one of the longest serving members of Care Forum Wales having been part of the team, which set up the organisation back in 1993. Shokat Babul was elected chair of Care Forum Wales in 2000. He also runs Plasgeller Nursing Homes in Blaenau Gwent; sits on the Social Care Institute for Excellence in London; and has recently been appointed to the Welsh Assembly Government's Health and Well Being Council. shokat.babul@btopenworld.com
	Mario Kreft – Chief Executive Mario is a founder member of Care Forum Wales. He held the post of chair and head of policy and public affairs for the first five years, before being made chief executive in 2003. As well as his work for Care Forum Wales, Mario manages a group of care homes in Wrexham. He also sits on the Care Council for Wales, the National Partnership Forum for Older People and is chair of the North Wales Care Association. Mario@pendinepark.com
	Mike Davies – Vice Chair Mike is vice chair of Care Forum Wales. He champions SMEs and has spent considerable time developing Care Forum Wales the south west Wales region. verysadmike@btinternet.com
	Mike Kemp – Treasurer Mike has recently taken on the role of treasurer for Care Forum Wales after serving as a member of the Care Council. He is particularly interested in the Fair Price for Care fees tools. He also runs College Fields Nursing Home in Barry. mike@jointmission.co.uk
	Gordon Cole – Senior Policy Advisor (Regulation) Gordon Cole is an independent Social Care Consultant who works with private, voluntary and public sector care services providers. As policy adviser to Care Forum Wales, he has more than 40 years experience and has been closely involved with the National Assembly Task Groups on the implementation of the Care Standards Act 2000 and the NHS Plan for Wales. He is also a member of the Domiciliary Expert Reference Group. Gordon manages the Care Forum Wales helpline for members on regulatory issues arising from the implementation of the Care Standards Act and the introduction of National Minimum standards. gordonc@belmont.carenet.org.uk
	Barry Latham – Senior Policy Advisor (Health and Well-being) Barry is a member of the Wales Care Strategy Group and responds to many National Assembly consultation papers. He has meetings with senior civil servants to discuss a wide range of Welsh Assembly Government policy issues and is a member of the CFW delegation which meets with Minister for Health and Social Services. Barry is monitoring the production and implementation of the Health, Social Care and Well-being Strategies throughout Wales and is CFW's representative on the Angelesey, Conwy, Gwynedd and Denbighshire Heath, Social care and wellbeing Parntership boards. enquiries@careforumwales.org
	Jan Wood – National Workforce Development Advisor With more than 20 years experience in the sector, Jan's appointment to CFW is a great coup. Her role is to provide and assess best value training support for members and she will shortly be launching a training helpline. She represents the sector, locally, regionally with the four social care partnerships and nationally with the likes of ELWa and the Welsh Assembly Government. Jan also has input into the Essential Update Meetings and has been involved closely with the Academy of Care Practitioners project. jan@manorhouse.me.uk
	Alison Castrey – Legal Advisor Alison is a solicitor, based in Bristol, who specialises in the law relating to care homes catering for all ages and needs. Since coming on board with Care Forum Wales, Alison has been responsible for compiling the hard-hitting report to the Office of Fair Trading about the inequalities of funding in the care sector. She has also repared a model contract for the care sector to use when negotiating with commissioners. carestandards@castrey.com
	Paula Abbandonato – PR Consultant Paula, of Vibe, is Care Forum Wales's PR consultant and has been responsible for orchestrating the 'Fair Price For Care' campaign, which won an award in the 2004 Institute of Public Relations PRide Awards for 2004/5. She is skilled in all elements of PR including crisis management and community relations. She has won national awards for her PR campaigns and now teaches PR to clients across Wales. paula@vibemail.co.uk
	Clare Birt – Marketing Consultant Clare, of Vibe, has more than 15 years experience in the marketing industry, and has won national awards for Meet the Care Forum Wales Team campaigns under her management. Along with Paula, she set up Cardiff-based Vibe two years ago, and has just been appointed by Care Forum Wales to manage the organisation's membership drive and marketing activity. She will be responsible for developing benefits for members over the next 12 months. clare@vibemail.co.uk
	Jo Dunston – Administrator Jo Dunston is the Care Forum Wales administrator and the first point of contact for all membership enquiries. If you want to find out about joining CFW, talking to an advisor or attending a meeting, Jo will organise it for you. enquiries@careforumwales.org

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