At last, we appear to be getting closer to the sorely-needed reform and integration of health and social care services in Scotland.

For too long now, different masters, separate budgets, and parallel structures and cultures have fuelled a turf war between health and social care – yet what Scotland’s older people repeatedly tell me they desire and require, is to experience health and social care as a single service that gives them the care they want when they want it.

I fully agree with the Government that nationally agreed outcomes and integrated budgets will be key to improving the social care for older people and therefore welcome Cabinet Secretary Nicola Sturgeon’s commitment to reforming the current system.

However, to ensure that any new system truly puts the service user, the older person, first – there must be a significant shift in the resources available to support older people in the community. The key test of the Government’s integration plans will be delivering a step-change in the level of community-based services that older people need.

Furthermore, it is imperative that in planning for change, the Government fully consults with older people, as their needs and wishes, I believe, matter more than the vested interests of those organisations providing services.

In the coming months it will be crucial that service users are fully empowered and able to influence the course of the debate on equal terms with the institutions and organisations delivering care.

Unless change arrives on the back of genuine and meaningful consultation, I am afraid that successful, long-term health and social care integration will remain elusive.

David Manion
Chief Executive of Age Scotland