The Scottish Government's new £100m fund to speed up health and care integration stresses the role of the third sector
Local health and social care partnerships are to get an additional £100m next year to help integrate services and ensure more money is directed to community and voluntary sector preventative services.
The Scottish Government has revealed how the £100m Integrated Care Fund is to be distributed across local authority areas and stressed the role of the third sector in delivering services.
The money will be available to partnerships following the end of the £300m Reshaping Care for Older People Change Fund, which concludes in April 2015.
It comes after finance watchdog Audit Scotlandcriticised the slow progress being made in health reform in a report earlier this year.
The funding will be used to support a range of integrated health and social care services for adults of all ages, including those with long-term health conditions and multiple health problems.
The third sector has demonstrated its ability to enable preventative approaches which provide alternatives to traditional NHS services and help older people stay independent and healthy for longer - Paul White
Paul White
It is expected to fund preventative services, early intervention and care and support.
The government has created the fund in a bid to speed up the process of integrating health and social care services in line with new laws passed earlier this year.
The Public Bodies (Joint Working) act promotes joint working between health boards, local authorities, the third sector, and independent health and are providers.
This approach is expected to improve services, improve people’s health and wellbeing generally and prevent the need for expensive care in hospitals.
The Scottish Government has stressed the role of the third sector in the design and delivery of services supported by the new fund. It is calling for local partnerships to take a coproduction approach, whereby service providers and users are involved in designing services, and create services that can be fully funded through mainstream health and care budgets in future.
Plans for spending the money are to be agreed and signed off by representatives from the NHS, local authority, the third sector, and independent sectors by the end of the year.
The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) welcomed the move to involve the third sector more in the creation of preventative health and social care services in communities.
Paul White, SCVO’s director of networks, said: “SCVO welcomes the Scottish Government’s recognition of the important role that the third sector can play in creating a modern health and care system that prioritises independence and wellbeing.
“Through the Reshaping Care for Older People Change Fund, the third sector has demonstrated its ability to enable preventative approaches which provide alternatives to traditional NHS services and help older people stay independent and healthy for longer.
“We know that Scotland’s third sector, working with communities and health professionals, can create similar opportunities for adults of all ages to improve or manage their health and happiness. We look forward to seeing local health and social care partnership plans that reflect this.”
