Health & Social Care Partnership
Integration of health and social care is the Scottish Government’s programme of reform to improve services for people who use adult health and social care services. It ensures that health and social care provision across Scotland is joined-up and seamless, especially for people with longer term and often complex needs, many of whom are older or disabled.
The drive to integrate health and social care recognises that the way care is provided needs to change in order to meet both current and future challenges. If we do nothing, health and care services as they are will not be able to deliver the high quality service we expect. There are a number of reasons for change, which include:
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People who use health and social care services would like more integrated care.
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People are living longer, many with a range of conditions and illnesses, therefore demand for existing services is changing.
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There is always a need to continuously improve services and contribute to better personal outcomes.
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There is an opportunity to make better use of public resources.
Integration is not about starting again, as health and social care organisations already work well together and there are already many successful examples of joint working in Clackmannanshire and Stirling which can be built on. Health and Social Care Integration is all about putting people first and ensuring that services are tailored to meet the individual needs of service users and their families.
There are two health and social care partnerships which cover the Forth Valley area – one for Falkirk and one for Clackmannanshire and Stirling.
The vision of the Clackmannanshire and Stirling Health & Social Care Partnership is to enable people in the area to live full and positive lives within supportive communities. The local outcomes are based on the national Health and Wellbeing Outcomes and were developed in partnership with all stakeholders:
Self-Management
Individuals, their unpaid carers and families are enabled to manage their own health, care and wellbeing.
Community Focused Supports
Supports are in place, they are accessible and enable people, where possible, to live well for longer at home or in homely settings within their community
Safety
Health and social care support systems help to keep people safe and live well for longer.
Decision Making
Individuals, their carers and families are involved in and are supported to manage decisions about their care and wellbeing.
Experience
Individuals will have a fair and positive experience of health and social care.
Bringing health and social care services across Clackmannanshire & Stirling together, creates an opportunity to improve outcomes for people through joint working, better communication, improved efficiency and reduced duplication. The whole workforce is critical to determining the success of partnership working; including volunteers and staff from third and independent sector providers as well as those who work in statutory health and social care services. By recognising the strengths and all of the resources within partnerships and communities, and taking advantage of opportunities such as shared learning, the integration of health and social care can maximise outcomes for people and improve wellbeing.
Further Resources
For more information about Health and Social Care Integration, including papers from previous Board meetings please click here.
The Health and Social Care Standards set out what we should expect when using health, social care or social work services in Scotland. They seek to provide better outcomes for everyone; to ensure that individuals are treated with respect and dignity, and that the basic human rights we are all entitled to are upheld.
To view the Government publication outlining Health and Social Care Standards: My support, My life please click here.
The ALLIANCE is the national third sector intermediary for a range of health and social care organisations.
The ALLIANCE has three core aims; they seek to:
- Ensure people are at the centre, that their voices, expertise and rights drive policy and sit at the heart of design, delivery and improvement of support and services.
- Support transformational change, towards approaches that work with individual and community assets,
- helping people to stay well, supporting human rights, self management, co-production and independent living.
- Champion and support the third sector as a vital strategic and delivery partner and foster better cross-sector understanding and partnership.
For more information about the work of The Alliance please click here.
