National Care Service: Factsheet

What’s new and different about the NCS

Each year, thousands of people access and deliver community health, social work and social care support services. The NCS will aim to provide greater consistency across different services and locations in Scotland.

Greater consistency across the country

The NCS will ensure there is flexibility to address local needs and circumstances. But it will also aim to ensure the same high quality of service is available wherever people live by:

• creating a NCS Board to oversee the planning and delivery of services, in line with national standards and guidance
• aligning the national standards and guidance that apply to community health, social work and social care support

Improved information sharing and integration

The NCS will aim to smooth transitions between services and geographical locations. It will empower people by giving them easier access to information.

To do this it will:

• enhance the local arrangements for planning and delivering services between different bodies – for example local authorities, the NHS and the third sector
• develop an Integrated Health and Social Care Record to make people’s information more accessible to them and to staff who support them

A voice for people who access and deliver care

The NCS will give people with experience of accessing and delivering community health, social work and social care support more control by:

• involving people with experience of services at every level of planning
• helping people to access complaints pathways and remedies if their rights are not met
• providing coherent information and guidance
• enhancing independent advocacy provision

A new National Social Work Agency

We will create a new National Social Work Agency (NSWA) as part of the NCS.

NSWA will be a single national body created through partnership working. It will work with agencies and social workers to lead the social work profession. It will aim to ensure a skilled, supported and sustainable workforce across Scotland.

NSWA will provide national leadership and oversight of:

• social work education
• improvement and implementation support for local areas
• workforce planning
• social work training and development