CLS in Scotland

CLS seeks to change the culture and practice of community health and social work delivery so that it becomes more clearly values-driven, community focused in achieving outcomes, empowering of staff and a true partnership with local people.

The Social Care (Self-Directed Support) (Scotland) Act aims to ensure that care and support is delivered in ways that support choice and control over one’s own life and which respect the person’s right to participate in society. The Community Led Support model provides a real opportunity to embed the Statutory Principles outlined in the Act of participation, involvement and collaboration by providing a direct link between communities and health and social work practice. Further, the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act states that integration implementation is to be “planned and led locally in a way which is engaged with the community, including in particular service users, those who look after service users and those who are involved in the provision of health or social care”.

Community Led Support is an NDTi programme delivered in partnership with the participating Health & Social Care Partnerships and local authorities. We are very pleased that in Scotland, Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s ihub and Outside The Box are working alongside us in planning and learning from the programme.

Reflections from some of our partners…

"Facing future challenges with optimism"

June Findlater, Rehabilitation and Enablement Services Manager
Health and Community Care, East Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership

East Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership has a 10 year integration journey, a history of partnership in different forms, and a size that makes innovative ideas possible but increasingly challenging to deliver. Our vision, “working together with the people of East Renfrewshire to improve lives” supported by touchstones- valuing what matters to people; building resilience with people and communities; focussing on outcomes not services -is set within the context of the principles of Self-directed Support, Integration and Christie. The complexities of self-directed support implementation encouraged us to look again at how we modelled collaboration, co-production and the other statutory principles of partnership. Through our SDS care home pilot entitled My Life My Way, and our Safe & Supported (Delayed discharge) programme designed in partnership with individuals, carers, 3rd sector and our own staff, we benefited from the wealth of expertise our public and partners bring.

Community Led Support programme is the vehicle to bring all of this together to face future challenges with optimism.

"The solution lies in working with communities"

Des McCart
Healthcare Improvement Scotland

In 2016 Audit Scotland have clearly reiterated the message of Christie – ‘More of the same won’t do’. They have also made it clear that the solution lies in working with communities and their existing assets. Community Led Support brings together the key building blocks of Social Care in a way that starts from the original ethos of social care set out in legislation in 1968. In returning to basic principles and working with communities very much in their lives now, great things can and have been achieved. People and communities of people are able to exercise choice and control and to live lives that are much closer to those that they would wish for.

"Beginning with strength based conversations"

Phil White - Partnership Facilitator
South Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership

In the South Ayrshire Health and Care Partnership it is recognised that we need to place the ‘What matters to you?’ conversation at the heart of our programme for change. Community Led Support offers a well structured and facilitated approach that seeks to embody this ambition throughout all services, settings and professions and to ensure that new ‘front doors’ for social work and health begin with this strength-based conversation. Community Led Support will enable the HSCP to work with local people and communities, service users and carers, staff from health and social care, third and independent sectors to ‘co-produce’ local, proportionate, timely and bespoke approaches to support positive outcomes for people.