“Super” Mario Kreft Steps Down From Frontline Roles

Tributes have been pouring in after a “magnificent” social care champion announced he’s stepping down from two major frontline roles.

After four decades in the sector, Mario Kreft MBE, owner of the pioneering Pendine Park care organisation which has nine homes in Wrexham and Caernarfon, has revealed he is retiring as chair and director of two other bodies he founded, Care Forum Wales and the Wales Care Awards.

But he stressed he’s “not disappearing into the sunset” and pledged to focus his energies in future on championing the workforce and supporting smaller, independent and other community-based care providers, particularly in North Wales.
He’s also going to be busy in his day job after unveiling plans for a new £15 million 77-bed care home that’s going to provide much-needed dementia care and create more than 200 new jobs in Wrexham.

Mr Kreft’s contribution has been praised by figures across Welsh public life, including former Plaid Cymru president Dafydd Wigley.

He said: “Mario Kreft has played a pioneering role in developing quality care in Wales and it is vital that the Welsh Government should build on the foundations which he has laid.”

According to Julie Morgan, the former Welsh Government Deputy Minister with responsibility for social care, said Mr Kreft had been “magnificent” as chair of Care Forum Wales and she was in almost daily touch with him during the Covid pandemic.

She said: “Mario did all in his power at such a crucial time to work with the Welsh Government to mitigate the effects of Covid on care home residents and staff.
“He was a voice for the sector and was able to tell us with honesty the day to day experiences in the field. This was crucially important in a sector made up of many individual small care homes. He worked tirelessly to ensure their views were represented.

“Mario’s standards are very high. He believes that care residents should not only benefit from excellent physical care but also have access to music and the arts in all its forms.

“Mario has a breadth of vision that is rarely seen. I was proud to work with him and he has made his mark on Wales. “

It was a sentiment echoed by Gwenda Thomas, another former Deputy Minister, who said it had been a pleasure to work with Mario when drawing up the Social Services and Well-being Act.

She said: “Mario’s long standing commitment to compassionate care and to respect for and encouragement to staff has been truly remarkable.

“I know that Mario will continue to be a respected voice in the sector.”
As well as being instrumental in establishing Care Forum Wales in 1993, 10 years later Mr Kreft co-founded the Wales Care Awards which has honoured nearly 1,000 frontline social care heroes since then.

He was also a key figure in the Five Nations group which represents social care providers from Wales, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Eire.

Among his proudest achievements was receiving the MBE from the late Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in 2010 in recognition of his contribution to social care in Wales.

Five years later he was honoured in the enterprise category of the St David’s Awards and subsequently served on the Ministerial Advisory Board set up by Ken Skates to shape economic growth when he was Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport.

Mr Kreft said his greatest source of pride had been the people working in social care and the recognition they deserved for the vital role they play.

He also paid tribute to the collaboration between the sector and Welsh Government during the coronavirus pandemic, which meant Welsh providers received much more financial support than anywhere else in the UK.

“I would like to thank past and present members of Care Forum Wales and the many other sector contributors with whom I have worked,” said Mr Kreft.

“My professional life, and our sector, has been deeply enriched by their dedication and commitment to social care.

“My greatest personal satisfaction has been in promoting and recognising our glorious social care workforce in Wales.

“The pandemic years brought huge challenges, which were met with fortitude and genuine care and compassion.”