Staff crucial to success of new health and social care standards, warns third sector

New national health and social care standards proposed by the Scottish Government will only be effective if staff are aware of them and “embody the spirit”, the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (ALLIANCE) has warned has warned.

The new standards are based on 23 sets of outcome measuring tools to assess services.

These include a patient’s right to expect quality care which puts them at the heart of decision making.

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Launching a consultation for the standards in October, Health secretary Shona Robison said: “What matters most is that people feel included and respected, and can choose the kind of service which best improves their quality of life whatever their circumstances.”

But in its response to the consultation, the ALLIANCE warned the standards alone would not transform people’s experiences of care.

The body welcomed the standards as “long overdue”, especially with the inclusion of a commitment to use a human rights based approach, but the body warned how staff interpret the standards and how services could be held accountable would be crucial.

“At present it remains difficult to see how these standards can be effectively challenged,” the response said.

Training for health and social care staff to implement the standards will be needed, according to the ALLIANCE.

“The critical element will be in implementation and independent scrutiny of the principles and standards,” it said.

“In our view, the existing National Care Standards have not been appropriately communicated with front line staff or people who access support and services sufficiently enough.”