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The Scottish Government has published its response to the consultation on the Integration of Adult Health and Social Care.

In his introduction to this paper Alex Neil MSP, Minister for Health and Wellbeing emphasises the importance of this key programme of reform which is necessary to ensure the future delivery of effective, preventative health and social care.

"Perhaps most ambitiously, it is about establishing a public service landscape in which different public bodies are required to work together, and with their partners in the third and independent sectors, removing unhelpful boundaries and using their combined resources, to achieve maximum benefit for patients, service users, carers and families."

The government response also emphasises strongly the key role that service users, carers, and representative organisations can play in helping to shape the future direction of health and social care in their area, to achieve the best possible outcomes.   The government proposes to place a duty on the new Health and Social Care Partnerships to work collaboratively with these groups and to ensure their interests are properly represented at the strategic planning level.

"We recognise that good discussion, and effective, positive consensus, will only be achieved where it is informed by the local expertise of professional, carer, user and public representatives. It is therefore our intention to legislate for committee arrangements that confer voting rights on statutory members of the Health and Social Care Partnership Committee, and to strengthen these arrangements by legislating to require additional membership of the committee covering professional, carer, user and public interests."

For further information, click here

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