The Scottish Government's plan to integrate adult health and social care Easy Read

The Scottish Government's plan to integrate adult health and social care

The Scottish Government wants to change how NHS Scotland and Councils work together to deliver adult health and social care services. It wants to make sure that people get the right services at the right time and that people's money is spent on what people need.

The Scottish Government wants to make these changes by bringing in a new law which will create Health and Social Care Partnerships. NHS Boards and Councils will share the responsibility for these partnerships.

This paper is a consultation. That means that the Scottish Government has not made any decisions yet. It wants to know what you think about its plans.

The ideas in this paper are from discussions with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, NHS Scotland, voluntary organisations, carers and people who get health and social care services.

There are 20 questions and you can answer as many as you want.

Please send your answers and the form on page 13 to:

(Consultation)

Or email: adulthealthandsocialcareintegration@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Please reply by 11 September 2012.

If you have any questions about this consultation, you can call Gill Scott from the Scottish Government's Integration and Reshaping Care team on 0131 244 4824 or email her at gill.scott@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

1. The Case for Change

There have already been a lot of improvements in health and social care in Scotland but we can still make things better. Health and social care work differently and that makes it hard to provide a good level of care to people who need these services.

For example, at the moment, older people are admitted to hospital or a care home too often because they do not receive the right support to help them stay in their homes or another place where they would want to live.

See Question 1 here - Tell us what you think?

2. Outline of Proposed Changes

The Scottish Government would like to integrate adult health and social care so that people can stay in their home and receive the care they need at home.

We want to:

• improve adult health and social care services in Scotland
• get the best support from health and social care professionals
• join up the money that health and social care have
• work with healthcare professionals and the voluntary sector to plan services
• provide more care services in the community

Decisions about how the money would be spent would be made by Local Councils and Health Boards with their communities.

What this will mean for patients, people who use the services and carers, is that people would be helped to live well at home or in the community. The services provided by health and social care should be better.

People who provide care for their family would still be able to do this but should have more time for themselves.

See Question 2 here - Tell us what you think?

3. National Outcomes for Adult Health and Social Care

What do we want to do?

We want to improve people's experiences of health and care services and what the services do. We want to make the best use of the money we have.

The Scottish Government will help local Councils and Health Boards to make the best use of money, but they will still decide how the money is spent.

We are thinking about having outcomes for adult health and social care in Scotland. This means we know what improvements we think should have happened and we can check whether things are getting better. We will have these for older people first. We will then have outcomes for all adult health and social care.

How is this different from what happens now?

At the moment NHS Scotland and Councils work differently.

We will make sure that Health Boards and Councils know what they need to do. In the future they would have to work together and share the responsibility.

The outcomes are not legal. They are a way of checking things are getting better. The outcomes can change to make sure things keep getting better.

How will we do this - how will the law change?

Health Boards and Local Authorities everywhere in Scotland will need to deliver the same results. Scottish Ministers, Council Leaders and Health Board Leaders will make sure this happens.

See Question 3 and 4 here - Tell us what you think?

4. Who is responsible for how the money will be spent and the law.

What will change in law?

Community Health Partnership Committees will change to Health and Social Care Partnerships. Each Council and Health Board will be part of a Health and Social Care Partnership.

The money that Health and Social Care get at the moment will be put together to provide services for adults. This means that the money will help people get the services they need.

Who is responsible for how the money is spent?

Health Boards and Councils will have to tell Ministers, Council Leaders, Health Board Chairs and the public how they spend the money.

The Health and Social Care Partnerships Committee will include senior officers from Health Boards, Councils, elected Council members, professionals (such as doctors) and people from the voluntary sector. Patients and people who use the services will be involved and will be listened to.

The Scottish Government, Councils and Health Boards will check that money is being spent properly.

Health and Social Care Partnerships will try to meet agreed national goals. The Scottish Government will provide help to make sure the money is spent properly.

See Question 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 here - Tell us what you think?

5. Putting the money together

The Scottish Government wants to make the quality of care better. They want to make it easier for the NHS and Councils to share the money we have in Scotland for care services. The Scottish Government wants people to get as much care as possible in their own homes rather than staying in hospital longer than is needed.

We want to spend the money for health and social care in the best way we can, so that the money and people's time is used to best support each person where they need help most.

Putting the money together is important to help services to be delivered in the community.

Health Boards and Councils would put the money for adult health and social care services together.

See Question 10, 11 and 12 here - Tell us what you think?

The money would be for adult health and social care service in the local area.

Information would be shared by health and social care. This should make things better.

The Scottish Government have two ideas for putting the money together.

The first idea is to let the Health and Social Care Partnership make decisions about services together. 

The second idea is to let the two partner organisations decide that one of them will make decisions about services.

Health Boards and Local Authorities would appoint a senior official who would be in charge of all the money in each local area. They would report to their NHS Board and Council Chief Executives.

The Partnership will plan how the joined up budget will be used in the future.

See Question 13, 14 and 15 here - Tell us what you think?

6. Thinking about local services with healthcare and social care workers

The new law will mean that Health Boards and Councils have to speak to local professionals in health and social care teams, and voluntary organisations. Local professionals will help to decide how services are delivered. This will help Partnerships decide how to provide the best service in each area.

The Scottish Government will work with the NHS, Councils and professional organisations to make sure they are involved in thinking about local services if the health and social care system are put together.

Question 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 here - Tell us what you think?