Health and Social Care

In June 2014, the then Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, Mr Alex Neil MSP,  asked for proposals to be developed that would create a much stronger voice for people and communities using healthcare services. This brought about an exciting opportunity for everyone to be involved in designing and shaping a new way ahead that aims to raise the profile and priority of what matters to people in designing and delivering healthcare. The move towards implementation with Integration gives us a great opportunity to build on existing ways of working and try new things too.

A Project Team was formed to support the development of these proposals, which were referred to as “Stronger Voice”. They were supported by a Reference Group with a broad span of membership.  Details can be found here.

The Scottish Health Council engaged with over 1,000 people across Scotland, including stakeholders in the NHS and local authorities, the public, the third sector, service users and local communities. We used a range of engagement mechanisms. We also undertook a literature review on behalf of the team. All of this gave us a wealth of information that helped shape the final proposal document and define a successful plan. The consistency of feedback and messages was overwhelming. The request from service users and the public was clear. Allow us to be your partners, be honest with us, give us feedback and support us when it’s needed.

The key themes that emerged have been published here.

The proposals have been considered by The Cabinet secretary for Health and Wellbeing and COSLA leaders in January and guidance on next steps is imminent. Early indications show contentment with the direction suggested and we’ll move quickly to sharing next steps with stakeholders once we have them. Exciting times ahead!

For more information about the Stronger Voice project, please contact Jacki Smart (Head of Operations, Scottish Health Council)