Forming Medico-legal Partnerships to Provide Holistic Care to Domestic Abuse Survivors Professor Rich Owen, Swansea University Swansea Law Clinic at Swansea University works within a policy context set for social welfare law advice agencies by the UK and Welsh governments. In relation to Welsh law and policy, the sustainable development principle is the central organising principle of government in Wales, and it has made the first attempt in the world to enshrine the UN Sustainable Development Goals into legislation in the form of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) (the Future Generations) Act 2015. The Future Generations Act has seven interlocking environmental, social, economic and cultural well-being goals. In addition, there are five ways of working: taking a long-term approach; preventing problems occurring or getting worse; taking a collaborative approach; involving people with an interest in achieving the well-being goals; and integrating the seven well-being goals. The Act also establishes Public Services Boards in each Local Authority area. They are required to assess the state of well-being locally, set objectives and produce a plan designed to improve economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being in their local area, maximising their contribution to the well-being goals. The Welsh Government has established and supports Regional Advice Networks (RAN). This is a forum which can facilitate the advice sector’s influence over local well-being plans and meets regularly with the Welsh Government to influence its National Action Plan for the advice sector. The presentation will look at whether this policy context can facilitate and support the development of holistic advice to the Clinic’s clients through better integration of legal and medical services. In particular, it will look at the Clinic’s role in providing more effective medico-legal support to the victims of domestic violence through partnership working with a local hospital. There is growing evidence of bidirectional links between law and health demonstrating that social and economic problems with a legal dimension can exacerbate or create ill health and, conversely that ill-health can create legal problems (Genn, 2019). The project will explore whether closer integration of legal and medical services in an educational setting will lead to better educational outcomes.
This presentation is relevant to the following conference themes:
•community - through its examination of integration of and collaboration between public services, •skills & employability and training future lawyers- as it examines possible types of multi-disciplinary teamworking that it will be needed in the future, •Wellbeing - as the topic is focussed on client/patient wellbeing; •Resilience - as it is looking at ways of enhancing community resiience, and •Technology - as it draws on experience of working with an inter-agency referral app.
Hazel Genn, ‘When Law is Good for Your Health: Mitigating the Social Determinants of Health through Access to Justice’, Current Legal Problems, Volume 72, Issue 1, 2019, Pages 159–202
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