MONDAY, 19 JANUARY, 2015

IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Your Community, Your Voice, Your Future –invitation to feedback event for Aberfeldy communities

Members of the public are invited to attend a feedback event about the future of health and social care services in Aberfeldy and the surrounding areas.

Several working groups have been established to consider future options and their feedback and

progress will be shared with the local community at the event on Saturday, 21 February, which will take place at Aberfeldy Town hall between 10am and 1pm.

The feedback event has been organised by NHS Tayside, Perth & Kinross Council and independent and

voluntary sector partners as part of an ongoing engagement programme with the local community.

Following local engagement three working groups were established with interested community members to consider options and improvements for the future.

The three groups are the Integrated Resources Planning Group, Home Care Service Provision Group and the Single Point of Contact (information and volunteering) and Transport Group.

The short life working groups have been meeting on a regular basis over the past six months and have made significant progress, which they want to share with the community.

Evelyn Devine, Interim Lead Officer for Perth & Kinross Community Health Partnership, said, “We are delighted with the progress so far and the level of engagement from community members, and we are continuing to move on with further consultation.

“The views of the communities living in Aberfeldy and the surrounding areas are very important to us. It is vital that our local health services respond to the needs of the communities.

“We hope that as many people as possible from the local community can come along to the feedback

event about the future of health and social care services in Aberfeldy and the surrounding areas on

Saturday 21 February at Aberfeldy Town Hall.”

John Walker, Executive Director of Housing and Community at Perth & Kinross Council, added, “I would like to thank all members of the Aberfeldy community who have got involved in this project so far. Their input has been invaluable. I would encourage all local residents to come along to the February event to hear about the progress that’s being made, and get involved in shaping their local services.

“We need to ensure people with long-term conditions and disabilities, many of whom are older people, continue to get the joined-up and seamless support and care they need to live safely and independently in their own homes for as long as possible.”

Teas and coffees will be available. To register your interest in attending the feedback event or if you require assistance with travel, please contact Audrey Ryman on 01738 459541 or email audrey.ryman@nhs.net

The work is an example of how health and social care services are gearing up for integration.

NHS Tayside and Perth & Kinross Council will join up in a new way to deliver adult health and social care services. This new way of working will improve the quality and consistency of services for patients, service users, carers, families and communities and will deliver services that meet the needs of the increasing number of people with longer-term and often complex needs.

Health and social care integration will ensure that those individuals with long-term conditions and disabilities will get the joined-up and seamless support and care that they need to live safely and independently in their own homes for as long as possible.

Contact:

Debbie Huband

NHS Tayside Communications

(01382) 740134

Notes to Editors:

Health and Social Care Integration in Perth and Kinross

• Integration of adult health and social care is part of the Scottish Government’s programme of reform to improve outcomes for adults who use health and social care services. The aim is to make sure that services are tailored to meet the particular needs of individual local communities.

• The Scottish Government has said that current Community Health Partnerships (CHPs) will be replaced by new Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs). These will be jointly run by the NHS and Local Authority in each area. This follows the passing of the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act in the Scottish Parliament in 2014.

• In Perth and Kinross a Pathfinder Board has been set up to lead this process and oversee the transition to integrated services. A new legal entity called the Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership will be set up, with responsibility for delivering local services that meet local and national outcomes.

• The new Partnership will have executive powers and will use a single budget to deliver all health and social care services. All staff will continue to be employed by their existing employer, be it Perth & Kinross Council or NHS Tayside.