Health and Social Care

The ALLIANCE sets out the case for Integration

October 27, 2014 by Linda White No Comments | Category ALLIANCE

Shelley Gray, Director of Policy and Communications for the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) explains the part her organisation has to play in health and social care integration.

As an organisation whose core purpose is to give voice and influence to people who access health and social care, the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) has argued strongly that integration must be more than a structural exercise.

It is an opportunity to deliver on the strong policy commitments we have for health and social care that: is person centred; works with individuals and communities, valuing what they bring to the table; and that invests in supporting people to stay well, particularly in those parts of Scotland that experience high poverty and starkly unequal health outcomes.

Real and sustained innovation and improvement can only be driven by listening to our citizens, giving them stronger voice, and collaborating with them in improving our health and wellbeing.

ALLIANCE members have strongly and consistently called for integration to be underpinned by a Human Rights Based Approach. This argument gained substantial support through the legislative process and it is significant that the principles within the Act reflect a clear basis in rights. Guidance currently being developed will further reinforce and support a Human Rights Based Approach in practice. You can read more about human rights based approaches in “Being Human: A human rights based approach to health and social care”.

The hard work of developing legislation and guidance continues, however across Scotland the real work of making a reality of integration has already begun.

As Health and Social Care Partnerships begin to take shape, the ALLIANCE is playing its part in supporting the translation of policy into practice, with people at the centre. Our Health and Social Care Academy offers a space for people to connect, collaborate and learn as they grapple with transformational change.

The People Powered Health and Wellbeing Programme is a partnership working to build capacity for co-production so that this becomes ‘business as usual’ in health and social care.

ALISS (A Local Information System for Scotland) offers a bottom-up approach to mapping and connecting local assets, building relationships across statutory and community sectors.

The Third Sector Health and Social Care Support Team, delivered with the Scottish Government and third sector partners, continues to work with Third Sector Interfaces to support the capacity of the sector locally to maximise its contribution to integrated health and social care.

Our Self Management Fund investment programme will be amplified by the development of a national Self Management Network. Work is also being taken forward, jointly led by the ALLIANCE and NHS Health Scotland, to deliver on Scotland’s National Action Plan for Human Rights (SNAP), in particular by supporting a Human Rights Based Approach to integration.

The process of developing the integration agenda in Scotland has been an impressively inclusive one. What matters now is that this sets the tone for the work of the Health and Social Care Partnerships. We have an opportunity to make a real difference in people’s lives, and a strong, collective approach, in which the voices of citizens are strong and central, is absolutely crucial.

About the ALLIANCE 

The Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) is the national third sector intermediary for a range of health and social care organisations. It brings together over 700 members, including a large network of national and local third sector organisations, associates in the statutory and private sectors and individuals. The ALLIANCE vision is for a Scotland where people of all ages who are disabled or living with long term conditions, and unpaid carers, have a strong voice and enjoy their right to live well, as equal and active citizens, free from discrimination, with support and services that put them at the centre.

For further information about the ALLIANCE’s work, please contact Shelley Gray.

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