Consultation on proposals for the introduction of the role of an Independent National (Whistleblowing) Officer for NHSScotland Staff

Section 5: Health and Social Care Integration

The proposals in this consultation paper relate entirely to employees of NHSScotland, however, as integrating adult health and social care services is one of the Scottish Government's top priorities, we recognise that there will be an expectation that the services of the INO should also be accessible to those staff who deliver health and social care services in Scotland.

This consultation offers an opportunity to seek views on whether consideration should be given to widening the scope of the role of the INO whereby it may be accessed by employees of the social care sector, and if so, which employees should be eligible.

^[18]The Public Bodies (Joint Working)(Scotland) Act 2014 provides the legislative framework for the integration of health and social care services in Scotland. This Act requires local integration of adult health and social care services, with statutory partners (Health Boards and Local Authorities) deciding locally whether to include additional services such as children's health and social care services; criminal justice; social work; or housing support services, in their integrated arrangements.

Two models of integration are available for Health Boards and Local Authorities to choose from:

1) Lead Agency: delegation of functions and resources between Health Boards and Local Authorities. Where a Lead Agency model is adopted, the employer will be either NHSScotland or the relevant Local Authority.

2) Integration Joint Board (IJB): delegation of functions and resources by Health Boards and Local Authorities to a Body Corporate. Where the IJB model is adopted the IJB does not employ staff, rather they issue directions to the Health Board and Local Authority who employ or contract staff to deliver services.

When considering whether the scope of the INO should include staff working in services delivered by an IJB, we would also need to consider whether to include those staff working for voluntary and independent sector organisations providing commissioned services.

It is important to note that staff working in integrated services retain their employers' existing terms and conditions of service, including any policies for raising concerns with their employer. We are clear therefore that the INO mechanism should only apply where there are robust existing whistleblowing policies in place - given that the INO is intended to be a final stage in the process and not replace an employer's handling of whistleblowing complaints.

The integrated landscape is complex and we recognise that if the role of the INO is to be extended to include the adult social care sector, and potentially wider, more detailed consideration and discussion would be required. This would include consideration of resource requirements, as inclusion of the social care sector could significantly enhance the caseload and resource requirements of the INO.

It is also important to note that both the Care Inspectorate and Healthcare Improvement Scotland have existing statutory responsibilities to assure and protect everyone that use social care and health care services and to encourage and support continuous practice improvement.