Islands in the sun

When I became Vice President in 2010 I decided to commit to support the island authorities to feel better involved with ADSW so I agreed to go to a meeting with the three Directors in Glasgow. (Apparently it is the most convenient location for all three.) I have tried to keep my word this year and two of the three CSWOs have changed as both Gillian Morrison and Ann Williamson have retired, to be replaced by Caroline Sinclair in Orkney and Hughina Leslie in Shetland.

So that is the backdrop, and on 11th January I had dinner with Peter Hay of Birmingham and Ian Macaulay of Western Isles in advance of the Integration Seminar we were all to attend the following day. Over dinner I agreed to go out to the Western Isles to meet staff and take some of the debate to Stornoway and a date is fixed for 26th April. The following day at the seminar which was attended by a good number of representatives from CHCP Directors, I was invited to visit the Shetland CHCP as a gentle challenge to the ADSW reported position on CHCPs as being 'broken'. Of course I agreed and last week I travelled to Lerwick as Christine Ferguson's guest for a whistle stop tour.

ADSW's position on integration was not so much that CHCPs were broken, it was more that, as sub committees of Health Boards they are not consistently successful at fully involving local authorities to meet social care needs. ADSW has sought evidence on what works and has promoted a policy whereby a framework of policy and outcomes are set nationally and  delivery arrangements are determined are locally, accountability is joint and budgets are integrated.

So in unfeasibly warm sunshine I set off for the Shetland Islands with no real expectations other than that I would meet some good colleagues who I normally see only once a year at conference.
On arrival Christine drove me to Kantersted to meet the combined senior management team (see picture below). The welcome was warm and the mood was enthusiastic as we ranged over topics from primary care to learning disability, mental health to CJSW.

On the Monday evening I dined with an old Borders colleague, Ralph Roberts, now CEO of NHS Shetland, together with the chair of the CHCP, the chair of the Adult Protection Committee and the Director of Public Health. Once more it was a good exchange of ideas and I was confronted once more by the similarity of our challenges across Scotland - and the necessary difference of our solutions - Shettleston isn't Shetland!

Tuesday dawned with bright, warm sunshine once more and I met Helen Budge, Director of Education, the combined occupational therapy team, the community mental health team and Ann and Hughina. Ann, who many of you know, retired in January and now works part time for Alzheimer's Scotland and she has been replaced by Hughina. At the same time, the CSWO role has moved from Community Care to Children and Families and we discussed the significance of the move, the way in which the role is manifested in Shetland and the importance with which it is seen by the Council.

The visit was over all too soon but not before I had seen for myself the value of local determination, local arrangements to deliver national objectives. The model here works well and is well supported but there are aspects that wouldn't suit us in Borders - why should they - but they work for Shetland and I was very pleased to experience it.

Earlier in March, together with Pat Watters I was a guest speaker for Moray Council at a staff seminar held at Elgin City FC. Sandy Riddell is on the brink of a major re-structuring and asked us along to give thoughts on the integration agenda. Once more, a different council, different context, different agenda and a structure designed to meet local circumstance and it struck me as being well supported and well put together.
These forays around Scotland further convince me of the value of the local approach.

Andrew