Health and social care integrated joint boards to be investigated by MSPs

Health and social care - Worldskills UK

Scotland's integrated health and social care authorities are to be investigated by a group of MSPs.

The Scottish Parliament's Health and Sport Committee will consult patients on whether integration authorities are doing enough to involve patients, carers, the third sector and other stakeholders in the design and future.

The new Integrated Joint Boards (IJBs) were launched last April to oversee smooth transitions between health and social care services. Official figures show a 5.1 per cent reduction in bed days associated with people being unable to be discharged from hospital in 2016 compared with 2015, but how much of this is due to the IJBs is unclear.

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It is thought there have been conflicts within the boards between NHS officials and local councillors over how funding - which is channelled through the NHS - is spent. 

The IJBs also have a duty to involve stakeholders, and the committee has opened a consultation to hear from them how progress is going.

Convener Neil Findlay MSP said: “One of the reasons behind integrating health and social care was to ensure that the patient was put at the heart of all services – regardless of who was providing it. We want to establish how well this vision is being delivered on in practice.

“It is important that from the onset the new authorities utilise the knowledge and skills of all those partners in the delivery of health and social care. We want to see how that is being achieved and understand the many ways in which collaboration can improve the delivery of services to the public.

“It’s right that patients, carers, NHS staff, social care staff and the third sector do get a say in the future of health and social services and how these are being delivered. We hope to establish how well this is happening.”

The committee wants to know how involved patients have been in decision making. The deadline for the call for evidence is 8 March 2017