National Care Service: statement of benefits

Our vision and ambition

Our vision is of a Scotland where people enjoy a high quality of life. Scotland's community health and social care services support everyone, when they need it, to lead a fulfilling life, making Scotland the best place in the world to thrive.

To achieve this we must further develop the approaches to safe, effective, integrated and person-centred health and social care support. The Scottish Government's ambition is for a NCS that ensures people of all ages can access the support they need to live a full life by improving consistency and quality of provision.

• We will transform people's experience of social care support and related services, strengthen prevention and community-based support and reform access.
• We will continue integrating community health and social care and strengthen partnerships working with other services and agencies.
• We will ensure that individuals can participate in their care design.
• We will ensure people's needs are met holistically and driven by the outcomes that are important to them and their communities.
• We will strengthen prevention, early intervention and end of life care.

Everyone should be supported to live as independently as possible and drive the decisions about their health and wellbeing and the support they need, with their human rights respected and their dignity protected. People who have lived experience of social care and community health services, whether they are people accessing services, their families and carers, or community health and care workers and providers – and the wider public – are all key partners in realising a bold ambition to create a NCS for everyone.

If we get the delivery of social care support right, we can help people to live the kind of life they want to live: remaining in their communities for longer, being with their own family, going to college or undertaking training, getting a job or following their interests. People's lives can be transformed.

We are beginning a journey to improve social care and social work support in Scotland. We know that we do not have all the answers yet. We recognise that change is needed. We have a significant opportunity to ensure that people are placed at the centre of shaping the NCS.

This statement sets out the broad benefits we can realise through creating the NCS but much detail is still to be considered. We are committed to ensuring that the people who will access and deliver its services are at the centre of developing that detail. We will only get this right with your support.