National Care Service Forum 2024: report

Introduction

About our annual NCS Forums

Each year since 2022 we have hosted a NCS Forum. This is a chance for us to share updates on the progress of the NCS and hear people’s views and ideas. The forum is open to everyone and free to attend.

This year we held our NCS Forum on 7 October 2024 at Glasgow Science Centre.

You can find the reports from our past forums by visiting www.gov.scot/ncs.

Lessons from past NCS Forums

We used feedback and our experiences from past events to plan this year’s forum.

We:

• hosted the in-person event at Glasgow Science Centre, due to its accessibility, facilities, and good transport and accommodation links
• had options to take part fully online or at the venue
• shared the programme with attendees ahead of the event, and made alternative formats available
• provided handouts to each in-person attendee at the event and provided easy read formats for each table. For those attending online we shared these materials ahead of the event.
• provided a mailbox and telephone helpline for any pre-event enquiries
• covered expenses for accommodation, travel and other support as needed for those with lived experience
• made sure accommodation we booked for attendees was accessible
• provided British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation and electronic live captions online and in person
• gave people with lived experience early access to tickets
• sent all attendees a feedback survey after the event

Some changes from last year’s forum included:

• splitting our interactive discussions into morning and afternoon sessions to give people a break in between
• basing discussion questions on specific areas of the NCS, to reflect the progress over the last year
• assigning discussion questions to tables rather than asking people to choose, to make sure we covered all topics
• assigning people to tables to ensure a mix of individuals and representation from organisations
• not producing BSL and audio formats for event materials, due to low uptake last year, but making these available on request
• making further accessibility improvements to the set-up of the rooms