The Scottish Government has asked for responses to a consultation on the development of a National Care Service (NCS). In their consultation document, they state a commitment to implementing the recommendations of the Independent Review of Adult Social Care (2021). However, the consultation goes further than the recommendations within the Review and the proposed reforms are said to be the largest public sector reform in Scotland for many years.
In framing the consultation, Scottish Government state their ambition of creating a ‘comprehensive community health and social care service’ that supports all ages. The accompanying legislation is ‘likely to be extensive and complex’ and will take at least a year to be taken through the Parliamentary process.
A comprehensive community health and care service is a worthy aspiration and one we fully support, but there are many issues to be addressed if this is to be realised.
We are concerned that there is little mention of prioritising prevention, which must be central to any reform if health and care services are to be sustainable into the future.
We need to invest in staff, in the development of transformational leaders across health and social care, in systems that support integration and most importantly to empower individuals and communities receiving public services by involving them in the design and delivery of the services they use. This is about transforming culture and making it easy for leaders to do the right thing for individuals, families, and communities.
QNIS is committed to enabling person-centred culture across health and care services with positive outcomes for individuals, families and communities at its heart. If this reform progresses to the next stage there must be an emphasis on co-production, prioritising prevention as we work collectively across sectors to co-create more healthful villages, towns, and cities.
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