Strategy Engagement (Ad-Hoc)

This survey seeks to gather views to inform the Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership's response to the draft of the New Suicide Prevention Strategy and Action Plan produced by the Scottish Government. 

This Action Plan will replace the current action plan ‘Every Life Matters’ and will seek to build on the good work this plan has created on national and local levels. The new strategy and plan are seeking to go further than before to ensure fewer lives are lost to suicide in Scotland. For Aberdeenshire, this new strategy and plan will inform the upcoming local Aberdeenshire Suicide Prevention Strategy.

The survey is split into sections to reflect those of the consultation document. It is recommended to have open a copy of the Draft Strategy (PDF version) and Consultation Document while completing this survey as you will need to refer to it. You may also wish to refer to the Action Plan.

You do not need to answer every question and responses are anonymous.

The survey will close 9th August 2022

The members of the Strategic Planning Group were asked at the last meeting (14th June 2022) to take part in an interactive session to provide feedback on the next steps and key considerations in relation to the Health and Social Care Partnerships priorities over the next 12 months and beyond. 

In 2015 Aberdeenshire Council and NHS Grampian created an Integration Joint Board (IJB) to enhance, strengthen and develop the formerly separate services for the provision of adult health and social care, and improve and promote the health and well-being of the residents of Aberdeenshire.

The Integration Scheme under review is the mechanism by which the creation of the Integration Joint Board is achieved. The current scheme was published in 2018 and a review is now needed.

Please click on the link to view a side-by-side comparison of the 2018 Integration Scheme and the proposed revised scheme.

We have a couple of questions to gain feedback on the changes and to hear your views on how easy the scheme is to read and understand.

Your comments will be given careful consideration and appropriate changes made to the scheme ahead of submission to the Council and NHS Board for approval. 

If you require a printed copy or alternative format of the information and survey, please contact AberdeenshireHSCP@aberdeenshire.gov.uk 

This survey will close on the 22nd January 2023.

Thank you

How Good is Our Community Engagement Self-Evaluation Tool? 

Listening to the views of people who use our services and involving them in planning how our services are delivered is fundamental to delivering improved health and social care outcomes in Aberdeenshire.  Engagement is one of Aberdeenshire Health and Social care Partnership’s five strategic priorities set out in our Strategic Plan 2020-25. 

To improve and develop our approach to engagement, Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership (AHSCP) is adopting the self-evaluation process developed by Healthcare Improvement Scotland. This process will enable us to assess how we are meeting our public involvement and community engagement statutory duties and identify areas for improvement. Click on the link to access the Timeline and steps in the Self Evaluation process.

The outcomes of this self-evaluation process will inform the development of the Partnership’s Engagement and Participation Strategy and the areas for improvement within the strategy.

It is envisaged that you will discuss the statement questions within the tool with people you work with (your team, peers and / or service users) to inform your response. Click on the link to read How to Use the Self Evaluation tool.

Please complete the self-evaluation tool by 26 August 2022. The results will then be analysed and shared at the Consensus Meeting.  If you require any further support please contact George.howie@aberdeenshire.gov.uk

National Care Service (Scotland) Bill

The Bill proposes to establish a National Care Service.

The Bill allows Scottish Ministers to transfer social care responsibility from local authorities to a new, national service. This could include adult and children’s services, as well as areas such as justice social work. Scottish Ministers will also be able to transfer healthcare functions from the NHS to the proposed National Care Service.

Care or health services transferred to the new service could be delivered nationally or locally. The Bill proposes that new bodies called “care boards” would be responsible for delivering care locally. 

As well as proposing to establish a National Care Service, the Bill makes other changes including:

• allowing information to be shared by the proposed National Care Service and the NHS
• introducing a right to breaks for carers
• giving rights to people living in adult care homes to see the people important to them (known as “Anne’s Law”)

MSPs on the Scottish Parliament’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, and other committees, are looking at the details of the proposals, and want to know what people think about them.

Your responses to the questions within this survey will form the basis of the response which will be submitted on behalf of the partnership. To help you do this, you may wish to read the following background information about the proposals and the key terms that it would be helpful to understand:

• You can read more about the Bill on the Scottish Parliament website
• You can read more about what the Bill does in the explanatory notes 
• You can read more about why this Bill has been created in the Policy Memorandum
• You can read about how much the Bill is likely to cost in the Financial Memorandum 

The survey will close at midnight on Sunday 14th August 2022.

National Care Service (Scotland) Bill

The Bill proposes to establish a National Care Service.

The Bill allows Scottish Ministers to transfer social care responsibility from local authorities to a new, national service. This could include adult and children’s services, as well as areas such as justice social work. Scottish Ministers will also be able to transfer healthcare functions from the NHS to the proposed National Care Service.

Care or health services transferred to the new service could be delivered nationally or locally. The Bill proposes that new bodies called “care boards” would be responsible for delivering care locally. 

As well as proposing to establish a National Care Service, the Bill makes other changes including:

• allowing information to be shared by the proposed National Care Service and the NHS
• introducing a right to breaks for carers
• giving rights to people living in adult care homes to see the people important to them (known as “Anne’s Law”)

MSPs on the Scottish Parliament’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, and other committees, are looking at the details of the proposals, and want to know what people think about them.

Your responses to the questions within this survey will form the basis of the response which will be submitted on behalf of the partnership. To help you do this, you may wish to read the following background information about the proposals and the key terms that it would be helpful to understand:

• You can read more about the Bill on the Scottish Parliament website
• You can read more about what the Bill does in the explanatory notes 
• You can read more about why this Bill has been created in the Policy Memorandum
• You can read about how much the Bill is likely to cost in the Financial Memorandum 

The survey will close at midnight on Sunday 14th August 2022.

Survey to gather responses from across Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership to the draft Mental Health Strategy and Action Plan produced by the Scottish Government - Consultation Document.

Please note the survey will close on Friday 29th July 2022.

This survey seeks to gather views to inform the Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership's response for Scot Gov consultation on a Data Strategy for health and social care.

This will include detailed consideration of how to increase peoples’ trust and transparency in data sharing. It will also examine how to unlock the value of health and social care data as well as how the tricky challenges around safeguarding our data can be addressed. It will take into consideration ethics, standards, relationships with industry and legislative requirements throughout the Strategy development.

Our current working vision for the Strategy is:

• To improve the health and wellbeing of the Scottish population through innovative, collaborative, and ethical use of data.

To help us achieve our vision we have three ambitions:

• For the people of Scotland: Empower individuals to have greater access to, and greater control over, their own health and social care data.
• For those delivering health and social care services: Empowering the people who deliver health and social care services by giving them the confidence and ability to securely access, gather and share relevant information to make timely decisions and deliver better outcomes.
• For innovators, industry, and researchers: Ensure use of high-quality data to drive the development of new and improved, treatments, technologies, and ways of working for public benefit.

The survey will close 3rd August 2022.

Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership has been allocated money from the Scottish Government 2021-22 Mental Health Recovery and Renewal Fund.

We want to hear your views on our plans to use this money. There is more detail within the survey about our plans for this money.

All questions in this survey are optional. 

There are questions towards the end on diversity. We only use this information to look at the diversity of people who have taken part in this engagement, the information you provide is confidential and individuals cannot be identified.

We also ask a question at the end for your details so we can engage directly with you about the project as it progresses. Please share your details if you're happy for us to do this.

Call for views

The Scottish Government's Health, Social Care and Sport Committee has launched a short inquiry into winter preparedness and planning within health and social care. 

The inquiry aims to review the effectiveness of last year’s winter preparedness plan Winter Resilience Overview 2022-23 and make recommendations for the forthcoming 2023-24 winter plan.

As part of this inquiry, we are looking to gauge the views of the Partnership in to AHSCP'S winter preparedness and as such, would invite you to complete this short questionnaire. 

The deadline for responses is Friday 30th June

Overview

The strategic commissioning plans and performance reporting statutory guidance were initially published by the Scottish Government in 2015 and 2016. The purpose of the statutory guidance is to support integration authorities, who plan and direct the delivery of health and social care services, to produce strategic plans and annual performance reports.

Strategic plans and performance reports are requirements under the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014. This legislation set the framework for the integration of health and social care by establishing integration authorities.

The Scottish Government brought together a working group, including partners from across health and social care, to refresh the guidance. The working group included organisations that represent supported people, carer organisations, those who plan and oversee the delivery of services, and many more partner organisations.

As part of this work, we do not intend to make changes or alterations to the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014 or the related regulations.

Re-drafts of the guidance have been produced through engagement with the working group. We are seeking to capture further feedback and views on these revised guidance documents.

Scottish Government's Impact assessments are available on the SG consultation page.

This consultation on proposals for a Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill seeks the views of everyone on how we can protect, respect and champion the rights of people with Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence. 

In the Scottish Government's 2021 Programme for Government, there was a commitment made to carry out scoping work for a Bill, with a human rights based approach at the forefront of its development, with a wide coverage, covering the full range of neurodivergent people as well as people with learning disabilities. It has been co-designed with people with lived experience at the heart of it, through the Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP). 

The proposal looks to broaden the traditional reach and cover the full range of neurodivergent people as well as people with learning disabilities, recognising that around 10-15% of Scotland's fall into these categories. This public consultation marks what is hoped will be a significant milestone on the journey towards the fair and inclusive society Scotland aspires to be. Never before has such an ambitious and far-reaching piece of proposed legislation been focused on recognising and promoting the rights of our community of people with learning disabilities and neurodivergent people. If we get this right, Scotland has the opportunity to become a leading light, not just in the United Kingdom, but across the world.

PLEASE NOTE : This consultation survey is split up in to two sections - Overarching Themes and Specific Themes. We would encourage everyone to complete the first section 'Overarching Themes' and consider completing all of the second section. Given the length of this survey however, you are welcome to only complete questions in section 2 that are relevant to your job role or knowledge base. 

To read the full Consultation LDAN Bill Consultation document (www.gov.scot) 

For easy read options Supporting documents - Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill: consultation - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) 

Health Improvement Scotland (HIS) are developing standards for the care of older people living with frailty. The frailty and ageing standards are intended to improve services for older people who are frail or who may be at risk of frailty as they age. The ageing and frailty standards will be complemented by the national healthcare standards and are currently under development.  

There are 11 standards within the draft which cover:

• service design
• identification and assessment
• person centred care coordination and future care planning
• support for staff and care partners
• keeping active
• nutrition and hydration
• medicines management
• living and dying well
• care in hospital 
• delirium, dementia and cognition 
• mental health

More information about the consultation and the draft standards can be found here - Ageing and frailty standards - Health Improvement Scotland

In addition, HIS are hosting a webinar on Wednesday 22 May 2024, 2:30pm - 3:30pm, to explain about the standards and their impact. To join the online webinar, via MS Teams, to hear about the new ageing and frailty standards which are currently out for consultation please register using this link.

The aim of the consultation is to provide an opportunity for wider stakeholder feedback on the draft standards. HIS are specifically looking for feedback on the content of the standards. Therefore, comments not relating to the standards may not be included in the response. 

For example, HIS would welcome comments which cover:

• Wording that is unclear or requires clarification
• Potential gaps in the standards within scope
• Additional references for consideration 

Please note participants should read the draft standards using the link above before completing the survey and a summary of the responses received will be used to produce a response on behalf of the Partnership. All comments will be processed in line with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). The final Ageing and Frailty Standards are scheduled to be published in November 2024.

The closing date for the survey is the 19 May 2024. 

This internal questionnaire focuses on questions associated with the Draft Local Housing Strategy 2024 - 2029 and is being circulated in order to formulate an AHSCP response. In order to provide comments, you will first be required to review the relevant chapter in the document.

The Local Housing Strategy (LHS) sets out Aberdeenshire Council’s key priorities for the housing service over the next five years. It details the strategic direction, policies and plans over the lifetime of the LHS and prepare for longer term objectives of the Scottish Government’s Housing to 2040 policy. This will enable Aberdeenshire Council and its partners to deliver high quality housing and housing services to meet the needs of local people across all housing tenures. The LHS also provides important links and contributions to improving the health and wellbeing of residents, creating sustainable places, working towards Net Zero and reducing fuel poverty while supporting economic growth.

This version of the LHS builds on the progress against the actions of the 2018 – 2023 document and will look to build on these in line with new targets and aspirations.

The LHS has been developed with the backdrop of the Covid19 pandemic, the UK exit from the European Union, war in Ukraine, as well as construction costs, rising inflation, and cost of living crisis. These factors have and will continue to have significant impacts on the economy and local communities of Aberdeenshire. The Local Housing Strategy therefore comes at a crucial time and aims to support to improve housing outcomes by tackling inequalities and child poverty and increasing the energy efficiency of our housing stock where possible, new and old.

Evidence from the Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Housing Needs and Demand Assessment 2023 -2028(External link) has been used to inform the strategy alongside working with local partners to enable the supply of housing across all tenures and types of housing provision. The strategy aligns with national housing priorities and policies to look at maximising investment opportunities in the Aberdeenshire area.

The purpose of the strategy is to provide a clear strategic direction for the priorities and actions detailed below. It will also ensure that actions and targets are monitored regularly to establish that these are being achieved in line with the vision of the LHS.

Comments received during this consultation will be fed back to Housing colleagues and be incorporated into the final document which is due to be presented to Communities Committee in September 2024 for approval.

Background

The Scottish Government introduced the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill in the Scottish Parliament on 20 June 2022. 

The Parliament’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee published its Stage 1 report on the general principles of the Bill on 22 February 2024. On 29 February 2024, the Parliament voted to approve the general principles of the Bill at Stage 1.

During the course of its Stage 1 scrutiny of the Bill, the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee received notification of the Scottish Government’s intention to propose amendments to the Bill at Stage 2. The amendments were to reflect a consensus agreement it had reached with COSLA on a model of shared legal accountability for governance of the proposed National Care Service.

On 24 June 2024, the Committee received the following package of documents from the Scottish Government:

National Care Service (Scotland) Bill - draft Stage 2 amendments | Scottish Parliament Website

Read an overview of the Scottish Government's documents from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe)

Purpose of the call for written evidence 

The Committee is now issuing a call for written evidence to hear your views about the draft amendments the Scottish Government is proposing to make to the Bill as introduced at Stage 2. 

In her covering letter, the Minister states: 

“Through our proposed Stage 2 amendments, the main changes to the Bill will be as follows: 

• “The creation of a National Care Service Board. The National Care Service Board (NCSB) is intended to provide national oversight and improvement of social work services, social care support and community health services which fall within the scope of the National Care Service. It would prioritise the actions that will make the most difference to outcomes for people: clear and consistent national standards, performance against those and accountability for delivery. 
• “Greater consistency of local planning and delivery of reformed integration authorities rather than Care Boards. This will support implementation of NCS priorities by building on existing structures and good practice.” 

Thank you for taking the time to facilitate a table at a recent HSCP Engagement Session

Please answer the following questions to provide feedback on your experience of manning a table at the HSCP Strategic Engagement Sessions in September and October 2024. The aim is to keep a record of and share any learning to improve how we do things in the future.