Getting involved in designing the National Care Service (easy read)

1. Lived Experience Experts Panel

If you are aged over 18 and live in Scotland and have views on how you think the future National Care Service should look, you can apply to take part in our Lived Experience Experts Panel.

Lived experience means what is happening to people and what they are going through.

The Lived Experience Experts Panel will be made up of people who have real experience of needing, using or giving social care support in Scotland.

Your expertise will shape what the National Care Service is like and help to make sure we are working with the right people, in the right way.

Expertise means skills and knowledge.

The Lived Experience Experts Panel will take part in different kinds of research like:

• surveys

• being interviewed

• helping us come up with ideas about what changes we might make

• helping us understand what our evidence is telling us

• helping us understand if the suggestions made will bring about the changes needed within health and social care that people have asked for

We will let you know when research and design activities are happening.

You can decide if you want to take part or not.

The first things we will be thinking about are:

• information sharing

• rights and responsibilities

• local health and social care support

• making sure my voice is heard

• valuing the workforce

Do not worry if these topics do not feel relevant to you and your experience.

We will look at different things in the future that you might be more interested in.

You will be able to join the panel at any time to take part in co-design activities.

We are not asking children under 18 to join the Lived Experience Experts Panel right now.

In the future we will arrange events for specific groups to take part in co-design – for example:

• children, young people and their families
• care experienced people
• young carers
• children with disabilities

We will arrange the events in a way that best suit the group we are working with.

This will make sure everyone feels comfortable and we can get the best out of the work.

We are grateful for any help you can give us with this important work.

If you would like to be part of the Lived Experience Experts Panel you can apply online.

We want to make sure the panel has a wide range of people with different backgrounds and experiences.

If you need help to fill in your application, please contact our helpline on: 0808 196 1507

It is free to call from mobile phones and landlines.

The helpline will be staffed by members of the National Care Service team on:

• Tuesdays from 9am to 12pm

• Thursdays from 1pm to 4pm

• You can email LEEP@gov.scot and ask for someone to call you back if you need support with the application when the helpline is not open.

In your application, we will ask questions about:

• you and your experience of social care in Scotland
• which things you are interested in (from pages 3 and 4)

You can apply to join the panel at any time.

After you apply we will:

• contact you to offer you a place on the panel now
• or let you know that we will contact you in the future with more chances to join

We will be adding things and new ways to get involved over the coming months and years.