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Report of the Joint Future Group

CHAPTER 9 IMPLEMENTATION

9.1 The Group reports formally to Susan Deacon, Minister for Health and Community Care. It will be for Ministers to decide to accept the report, in whole or part. We envisage, however, a short period of consultation with interested parties. This would include referral to the Health and Community Care Committee which is nearing the end of its Community Care Inquiry.

9.2 In proposing change, we have not had to be radical. Much of what we recommend is already there, in part at least. Our proposals will, however, build key measures into the fabric of community care, across the board.

9.3 The changes we recommend should not be optional. We believe that agencies, their management, professionals, and indeed users and carers all realise that implementing these changes, quickly, is essential if community care in Scotland is to be more effective. Ministers will decide how to do that.

9.4 We recognise in our recommendations the need for closer links between resources - especially new resources made available nationally - and delivery of outcomes against them. Possibilities to achieve that might include:

• working under the financial proposals set out in Chapter 5, if they are introduced quickly;
• agencies submitting joint proposals to achieve our goals against new resources. This might be termed a change fund approach; and
• directing agencies.

9.5 The consultation seminars suggested a willingness on the part of agencies to implement our proposals. A number did however express concern that a directive/prescriptive approach might not sit well with the partnership approach being advocated in at least some of our recommendations. The Executive’s statement on older people proposed discussions with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities on how to achieve the desired outcomes, and we welcome that.

9.6 We have produced a strong set of recommendations at a time when a new lead is required. This is a great opportunity for Ministers, for all the agencies involved in community care and their staff to accept and run with the challenge we present. We believe there is a strong will to do that. It is now down to all concerned to make that happen. We look forward to our recommendations being acted upon, both locally and nationally, in a sense of partnership.

Resources

9.7 We recognise that some of our recommendations will have resource implications. On the other hand, some will result in better use of existing resources and better service outcomes. Agencies need to look very carefully at the way they resource existing services and systems, and identify the scope for their better use.

Conclusion

9.8 This is the beginning, not the end. Individual agencies have very different starting points, but we hope our recommendations will bring to the vast majority of people using community care services better quality services, better systems and as a result better outcomes available more consistently across Scotland. We expect the Scottish Executive to look for demonstrable progress by agencies on delivering our recommend-ations.

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