val's blog september 2017: one year on, vibrant snapshots ... · val's blog september...
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Val's blog September 2017: One year on, vibrant snapshots and the road ahead . . .
It’s hard to believe it’s a year to the day since I penned my first blog as Director of
Health and Social Care.
Back then, I set down three clear priorities. Those were :
• Ensuring the resources we have are
used effectively and efficiently against
increasing demand;
• Working together, consolidating and
building on our shared strengths;
• Developing our localities, our people
and connecting with our communities.
The aim of the ensuing blog updates over the last 12 months has been to offer
vibrant snapshots of how we’re meeting those priorities throughout our
communities, as well as the strategic overview.
By way of just one example, against
the first priority, we’ve rolled out
a specially-designed smartphone app
as part of the home care service. The
app, using the latest encryption
technology for safety, sets out
personalised schedules at our
workers’ fingertips and they can be
updated instantly and as required.
In terms of the second priority, our
Building and Celebrating Communities
Programme (BCC) (more on that
below), is gathering momentum and
building on what’s strong in our
partnership and communities.
Finally, in terms of the third priority, a
significant development has been
implementing locality operational
arrangements, with the appointment of
locality managers to complement the
strategic role of locality planning
groups.
Much more of the detail, and
examples, of what we’ve achieved
over the last year, and the priorities for
2017/18, is set out in the South
Lanarkshire IJB annual report – which
we’ll publish soon. An iteration of this
is available in the most recent IJB
papers from the meeting on 12
September.
In short, we’ve seen real momentum building. And with that, our partnership’s
focus is on what I refer to as the ‘big six’ (areas which encompass all these original
high level priorities).
These are:
• unplanned admissions
• occupied bed days for unscheduled care
• A&E performance
• delayed discharges
• end of life care and
• the balance of spend across institutional and community services.
These were set down last December at the Ministerial Strategic Group for Health
and Community Care (MSG) as indicators for measuring performance. You can
read more on this here. Effecting positive change on all these six areas – and
shifting the balance of care from acute settings to new and innovative community
alternatives – has, and will, form the thrust of endeavours.
Given that we’re in autumn, one of the
immediate priorities is planning for the
winter. We’re keen to support people
to manage conditions at home and
ensure the most appropriate, safe care
and management. This has the added
benefit of ensuring our hospitals have
the capacity to deal with the most
serious cases. You’ll be hearing much
more about this in the coming weeks,
months – and, indeed, longer term.
So is the road ahead clear-cut, easy and without challenge? Absolutely not.
Some of the challenges we face are unprecedented and there’s jaggy issues we
need to grasp.
The integration of health and social care never was, and never will be, a linear,
one-size fits all, straight-forward process. Yet, I’m proud of the way this partnership
is moving forward, as these blog posts attest. And that’s down to you.
Shortly after starting this role, I noted I was optimistic for the future. I said I was
confident, given the level of commitment, energy and talent we have throughout
our partnership.
That core belief and optimism remains steadfast as we continue to address our
priorities, embrace our challenges and, overall, work together to improve health
and well-being in the community – with the community.
Thanks for reading.
Val de Souza
Director of Health and Social Care
South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership
Val's Open Door Sessions
Val recently met with South Lanarkshire Young Carers Forum to hear about their
vital work. You too can meet with Val to discuss what matters to you. The next
open door session is 3 November 2017, 2pm-4pm, at Lanark local office. Please
contact Giuliana Gustinelli on 01698 453700 or email
[email protected] to book a slot.
SLH&SCP news nuggets
Special edition newsletter a recipe for success
South Lanarkshire's third sector provides a range of
services that contribute toward the achievement of
the nine national health and well-being outcomes. A
special edition online newsletter, now live, brings
into sharp focus the contribution the 19 third sector
projects that received funding from the Integrated
Care Fund (ICF) during 2016/17 make. Read it here.
Health and social care forum - are you in?
If you are interested in helping to
shape your local health and social
care services, you can make your
voice heard through the South
Lanarkshire Health and Social Care
Forum. Commissioned by SLH&SCP
as its key route for community
consultation and engagement through
a formal working agreement, the forum
is an independent group of community
volunteers. Find out how to get
involved here.
Treble recognition for social work resources
Three key areas of social work resources recently retained the Customer Services
Excellence Award (CSEA). The CSEA serves as a driver for continuous service
improvement. Attaining this award evidences that practice is essentially customer
focussed.
The services that retained this prestigious award were Older People’s Day Care
Services which has 14 day care centres spanning a wide geographical area. This
includes specialised centres for those living with dementia. In addition to the
award, this service achieved best practice recognition across a number of areas.
Adult mental health services provide a comprehensive service to individuals with a
wide range of mental health difficulties and complex needs. Mental health officers
and social workers play an essential part within this service in South Lanarkshire.
Older People’s Services Residential Care has eight care homes providing a holistic
service to individuals throughout South Lanarkshire, many of whom with complex
needs. In addition to the award, this service also achieved best practice recognition
across a number of areas.
On the move
Maria Reid has taken on the role of interim head of health promotion/health
improvement for NHS Lanarkshire. Maria will continue to lead on health
improvement and related planning work for SLH&SCP but will assume professional
leadership responsibilities for the discipline across Lanarkshire.
We also welcome the development of the South Lanarkshire Alcohol & Drug
Partnership (ADP) and the ADP support team (Fiona McIntyre, Garry Kennedy and
Louise Cordiner) to their new home in partnership HQ, Almada Street. Through the
integrated approach of the ADP, which is being led by Liam Purdie, head of
children and justice services and chief social work officer, there is a clear focus on
achieving real outcomes for individuals, families and communities affected by the
problems associated with alcohol and drugs. The ADP has a responsibility to
ensure that the national alcohol and drug strategies, which are due for publication
in the autumn, are fully implemented and that systems are in place to measure
performance. Finally, and in continuing the theme of addictions, the partnership
welcomes the recent appointment of Dr Val Tallon, service manager, who will be
responsible for integrating our alcohol and drug services. We wish all every
success.
The Haven on film
Val recently visited the Haven Centre in Forth, which provides care, relaxation
therapies and information to people affected by life-limiting illness and also to their
carers and family members. During the visit, Val watched a short film capturing the
essence of The Haven, created by Daniel. Daniel was once a Haven client, peer
support volunteer and keen producer. Daniel's film conveys what The Haven,
which also has centres in Blantyre and Wishaw, means to various people.
BCC's new look unveiled
The BCC programme continues to gather pace. The partnership recently
developed some branding options to bring a strong sense of identity to this
extremely important area of work.
We put these options to the public vote and we’re delighted to announce that the
branding, pictured above, emerged as the preferred choice. The new BCC brand
reflects both the rural and urban nature of our communities – as well as the deep-
rooted connections underpinning them.
Get in touch . . .
Do you have a story? We want to know about your success, your achievements, innovation, challenges and how you're overcoming them. Get in touch today. Call Euan Duguid in SLH&SCP Communications on 07917041853 or email [email protected]