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SPPC response - National Care Service Consultation

The SPPC has submitted a response to the Scottish Government's consultation on a National Care Service for Scotland.

The SPPC response made the following key points:

1. People approaching the end of life are the biggest single group needing social care support.

2. SPPC Supports the aims and intended outcomes of the proposals

3. Structural and process reform is necessary but not sufficient.

4. Voluntary hospices are major providers of specialist palliative care in many (but not all) areas of Scotland. Any new arrangements should take account of this (for example by not assuming that all mainstream healthcare provision is provided by the NHS).

5. SPPC supports the consultation response submitted by Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS).

6. Most care towards the end of life is provided by family friends and community members. Commissioning processes should be flexible enough to enable and build the capacity of informal community support – not just managed volunteer services but also “active citizens” who need a bit of help.

7. The emphasis on a more systematic national approach to issues such as workforce, improvement infrastructure and consistency of high level outcomes is welcome. The reforms also need to leave space for local priorities and situations to inform and drive local innovation and solutions.

8. There is potential for more person-centred support via individual budgets. However, there is a need for streamlined access to be consistently available for people approaching the end of life where time (and sometimes energy and capacity) may be limited.

9. There is a need for more clarity and/or engagement on some aspects of the proposals.

The full SPPC response can be viewed here: SPPC response to National Care Service Consultation.