17 February 2015

It’s the most substantial reform to the country’s health and social care services in a generation, and people in the Borders are being asked to help shape its future.

Members of the public are being encouraged to attend one of five public interactive events being held across the Borders to give their views on the future shape of adult Health and Social Care Services in the area.

From April 2016 NHS Borders, Scottish Borders Council (SBC) and the voluntary and independent care partners will work as one to deliver services which meet the needs of Borderers. This is required by law, as part of Health and Social Care Integration - the Scottish Government's programme of reform to ensure that health and social care provision across Scotland is joined-up and seamless.

The partnership will bring together all community health services; adult social care services; health visiting; community dental services; sexual health services and unscheduled care.

At each of the planned events, staff from SBC and NHS Borders will be in attendance to explain the changes ahead and answer any questions. People will then have the opportunity to give their views.

Susan Manion, Chief Integration Officer for the Borders explained: “Health and Social Care services touch everyone’s life at some point. That's why we need you to help us shape our future services.

“What works well just now? What has your experience been like? What could we do better under our new partnership and how should we prioritise our scarce resources?

“This is the first of a number of public engagement sessions that we will have between now and September. There will be further opportunities for people to hear more about these arrangements and to have their say as they develop over the coming months.”

The interactive events are open to everyone and take place from 6:30pm-8:00pm as follows:

  • Monday, 16 February - Tait Hall, Edenside Road, Kelso, TD5 7BS
  • Thursday, 19 February - Community Centre (Drill Hall), Walker’s Haugh, Peebles, EH45 8AU
  • Monday, 23 February - Council Chamber, 49 Newtown Street, Duns, TD11 3AU
  • Wednesday, 25 February - Evergreen Hall, Dovecote Street, Hawick, TD9 9QL
  • Thursday, 26 February - Old Gala House, Scott Crescent, Galashiels, TD1 3JS

When the partnership goes live in April 2016, the Council and the NHS Borders will delegate responsibilities to a joint legal body called the ‘Integrated Joint Board’.

In the meantime, a Shadow Integration Board has been created to oversee the work. This Board is chaired by Councillor Catriona Bhatia, SBC’s Executive Member for Health Service.

Catriona added: “This is our chance to think differently about health and social care.

“Both NHS Borders and SBC are facing significant challenges in terms of resources and there is no denying that we can’t continue to provide services as we do now.

“Through Integration, we need to find the most effective way of delivering services that make the best use of resources, abilities and skills we have. By working in partnership, we will ensure we provide a better, more joined up service for the people we care for.

“We must ensure the future partnership between the Council and NHS Borders best meets the needs of people of the Borders – but we can only do this with the input of the Borders’ public.

“I would strongly encourage anyone who can contribute to this process to come along to one of these events and get involved in the conversation.”

Consultation on the first piece of work called the ‘Scheme of Integration’ (SOI) is currently open and asks for people’s views on a range of technical issues such as proposed delegated functions, clinical and care governance arrangements, financial/workforce management and operational arrangements.

Feedback received from the consultation will be considered prior to the document being revised and submitted to the Scottish Government at the end of March. Following this, a consultation on the Strategic Commissioning Plan which outlines how services will be delivered and commissioned will be launched.

The consultation on the Scheme of Integration is open until Friday 13 March. To view the document and to give your views visit www.scotborders.gov.uk/integration or www.nhsborders.scot.nhs.uk/corporate-information/integration/. You can also email integration@scotborders.gov.uk, or call 01896 828294 to request hard-copies.

If you would like to attend any of the above interactive events, please email integration@scotborders.gov.uk and state which event you want to attend. You can also phone 01835 825561.