Integration of Adult Health and Social Care Consultation Analysis Report

CHAPTER 2: METHOD

2.1 This chapter outlines the method used for the consultation on the proposals to integrate adult health and social care in Scotland.

Process overview

2.2 The formal consultation took place between 8 May and 11 September 2012. During this period the Scottish Government wanted to encourage a wide and inclusive discussion. This consultation followed a year long process of engagement with stakeholders to develop the proposals. To achieve this there were two main elements to the consultation process:

• The invitation for individuals and organisations to submit written responses to the document Integration of Adult Health and Social Care in Scotland: Consultation on Proposals^[8]; and
• Nine public and practitioner consultation events.

Written responses

2.3 The Scottish Government promoted the consultation on its web site and invited written responses to the consultation paper from all sections of society in Scotland. In particular, from those groups and organisations with a specific interest in health and social care. A copy of the consultation questionnaire can be found in Annex 2.

2.4 The consultation document and information on the consultation process were available on the Scottish Government web site. This included an Easy Read version of the document. Paper copies including larger print and Braille versions of the consultation document were made available on request.

2.5 The consultation document was distributed to a wide range of stakeholders including Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), Health Boards, Local Authorities, third and independent sector, professional organisation/bodies and equality groups.

2.6 The written responses were submitted directly to the Scottish Government via email and by post. Those responding were given three options regarding confidentiality of their response (confidential; keeping their name but not response confidential; and not confidential). Those who did not fill in any option had their responses treated as confidential. 315 written responses were received by the Scottish Government. The respondents were categorised into individual and organisational or group responses, with 15 categories to describe individual and group role or interest in health and social care (see chapter 3, section 3.2, for a profile of the respondents).

Consultation events

2.7 The Scottish Government held nine public and practitioner events over the summer. There was a mixture of practitioner focused and public events.

2.8 The Scottish Government hosted practitioner events in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth, Dumfries and Elgin. These events provided practitioners from the NHS, local government and the third and independent sectors with an opportunity to discuss the integration agenda in more detail and provide valuable feedback in advance of submitting written responses to the consultation.

2.9 The Scottish Health Council hosted public consultation events, on behalf of the Scottish Government, in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth and Dumfries. These events provided an opportunity for members of the public to discuss in detail the proposals to integrate adult health and social care and also to provide valuable feedback in advance of submitting written responses to the consultation.

2.10 All of the events started with an overview of the proposals to integrate adult health and social care, presented by the Scottish Government. At the practitioner events this was followed by a panel question and answer session. The panel included representatives from health, local government, third and independent sectors.

2.11 For the public events, facilitated table discussions regarding the consultation proposals were held prior to the panel question and answer session. The facilitators used open questions to stimulate discussion. A copy of the facilitators' questions guide can be found at Annex 4. Participants were given the opportunity to put forward questions to the panel. Chapter 4 provides a summary of the key themes from all the public and practitioner events.

Local information sharing events and meetings

2.12 The Scottish Government contributed to around a further fifty events. This included a variety of conferences, workshops and focus group meetings hosted by a wide range of organisations, including Health Boards, Local Authorities, third sector organisations, carers organisations and public participation forums. Scottish Government officials provided an overview of the proposals and the participants were given the opportunity to ask the Scottish Government officials questions about the proposals. These events provided information and discussion that helped participants inform their response to the consultation, and added informally, and very helpfully, to the ongoing discussion between Scottish Government and partner organisations about the proposals. The views expressed at these local events are not represented in the report.

Data analysis

2.13 The views expressed by the 315 respondents were grouped into themes under each of the twenty questions posed in the consultation document. The views expressed by participants at the public and practitioner events were summarised under key themes from the discussion.

2.14 A computer based system was set up to collate information from the written responses to support the analysis. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used to reflect the nature of the consultation questions. The consultation document contained twenty questions aimed at collecting views on the scope for change; national outcomes for adult health and social care; governance and joint accountability; integrated budgets and resourcing; jointly accountable officer; and professionally led locality planning and commissioning of services. The majority of the questions asked directly whether respondents agreed with specific proposals by providing a yes/no tick box option. It should be noted that the response form did not include any 'mixed view' or 'no response' option. The analysis therefore includes quantitative data derived from views where the respondent has made clear whether they agree or disagree with the proposal.

Summary

2.15 This chapter has outlined the methods used in the consultation. The remainder of this report sets out the views of respondents to the consultation, with chapter 3 reporting on the views expressed in the written responses and chapter 4 providing a summary of the discussion at the public and practitioner consultation events.