First steps towards a National Care Service

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf and Minister for Social Care Kevin Stewart have welcomed the first meeting of a Social Covenant Steering Group, set up to help guide the development of a National Care Service.

Establishing the group, made up of people with day-to-day experience of social care, was a key recommendation of Derek Feeley’s Independent Review of Adult Social Care and marks the fulfilment of one of the commitments for the first 100 days of this government.

Initial membership of the group, which met for the first time today, includes unpaid carers, disability rights activists, a care home resident, a campaigner for the needs of relatives of those in care homes, a social care worker and others with significant experience of the way services are currently delivered. The diverse group includes people from across Scotland with a spread of ages, and social, cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

The group is expected to help establish a common set of values and beliefs – a social covenant - which will underpin the National Care Service, including treating people with dignity, prioritising the common good and ensuring there is strong oversight of the new service. It will establish underlying and unifying principles to help guide decision-making.

Mr Stewart, who will chair the group’s meetings, said: “We know there were problems in the social care system before  COVID arrived and we had already started to think about ways of reforming it, but the pandemic has shone a spotlight on the system and really highlighted the importance of making changes.

“Many members of this group have already heavily influenced the recommendations in Derek Feeley’s report and I am keen to ensure that we continue to listen to their expert views and act on what they tell us. 

“A social covenant will enable us to develop a common set of values around social care; and see those systems as not merely a safety net, but a springboard to allow people to flourish.

“It is extremely important that we listen to people with lived experience – the real experts - to hear about the highs and lows of social care services. It is by doing this that we will really find out what’s good about the services people receive, more importantly, what needs to improve for those who use and deliver social care.”

“Only by listening to people with real-life experiences , and acting on what we hear, can we create a system that ensures that everyone in Scotland has the opportunity to live fulfilling and rewarding lives.”

Marion McArdle,  who has a  daughter with  complex needs said: “I feel privileged to be part of this group, since I’m fully expecting it to be a partnership between the government and the experts, people with real stories and real suggestions on how to change things for the better based on their lived experience of social care in Scotland.

“I’m optimistic that this can only be good thing and a great step forward in getting it right for Scotland’s citizens who are entitled to a social care system which at the very least meets their human rights.”

Background

Derek Feeley’s Independent Review of Adult Social Care said: “Trust is not currently in plentiful supply in social care support and so we believe that there is a need for an explicit social covenant to which all parties would sign up.”  

Among its recommendations, it stated: “There must be a relentless focus on involving people who use services, their families and carers in developing new approaches at both a national and local level.”

A consultation document on the National Care Service is due to be published on 9 August and the consultation will run until 18 October.

Social Covenant Steering Group  - initial membership   

Sarah Cronie

Sarah is an ambassador for young people with long term health conditions, learning disabilities, early experience of bereavement, care experienced young people and young carers and experienced all these challenges herself at a young age. Nineteen-year-old Sarah works with the Usual Place in Dumfries,  a community café which provides training, education and employability skills for young people with additional support needs.

 Dr Caroline Gould

 Caroline lives on the Isle of Skye and works for a local charity for disabled people and advises on accessibility of buildings and services and training of staff. 

Tommy Whitelaw

For five years Tommy Whitelaw was a full-time carer for his late mother Joan who had Vascular Dementia. Since 2011 he has engaged with thousands of carers through his ‘Tommy on Tour’ blog and is National Lead for Caring and Outreach with the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland’s Carer Voices project.

Marion McArdle

Marion McArdle cares for her adult daughter Laura  who is affected by Down’s Syndrome and as well as having suffered severe brain damage following a heart operation.  Marion is on the board of governors at PAMIS which supports families In Scotland who have a family member who has profound and multiple learning disabilities.

Sophie and Robert Hogg.

74-year-old Sophie has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and Robert is her husband and carer.

Susan McKinstry

Susan and her wife Maria have care needs.

Kiana  Kalantar-Hormozi 

Kiana is a young disability rights activist who has complex care needs.

Robert Faulds

Robert had addiction issues and was on methadone for 18 years and was addicted to heroin for two decades. He has now recovered and volunteers at an addiction centre where he helps others

Richard Toner

Richard is a is a young man with disabilities who is able to study at college with the help of a care package.

Carmen Simon

Carmen is a social care worker, and a member of the Unite union, who supports adults with complex care needs. 

Helen Morrison

Is a resident in a South Lanarkshire care home. 

Shubhanna Hussain-Ahmed

Shubhanna has been a carer since 2010 for her Mother and her husband.   She is currently the Partnership Development Officer at the Coalition of Carers in Scotland.

Jim Elder -Woodward.

Jim has cerebral- palsy and is also an experienced campaigner for disabled peoples’ rights. He was also a member of the IRASC advisory group

Cathie Russell

Cathie has been campaigning with Care Home relatives Scotland to protect the rights of loved ones in nursing and residential care. She is a former Corporate Communications Manager at South Lanarkshire Council.  

Cllr Stuart Currie (COSLA)

Councillor Stuart Currie is the COSLA Spokesperson for Health and Social Care. He was also a member of the IRASC advisory group.

Dr Pauline Nolan 

Pauline Nolan is Policy manager at Inclusion Scotland which runs the Scottish Government funded  People-led Policy Panel,  a diverse group of people who all have lived experience of adult social care support.

 Janet MacLugash

Janet lives in the Highlands.  She is a member of Inclusion Scotland and the People Led Policy Panel.

 Göran Henriks

 Chief Executive of Learning and Innovation, Qulturum, Jönköping County, Sweden Goran is a board member of the Swedish Institute for Quality, SIQ and the Chairman of the Strategic Committee of the International Quality Forum organised by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Goran was also a member of the IRASC advisory panel.