Plans to progress the integration of local health and social care services were outlined at a recent meeting of the Clackmannanshire and Stirling Integration Joint Board (IJB).

Local learning disability and mental health services are already joined up and managed by service leads with responsibility for both health and social care staff.

The next phase will see operational responsibility for services such as district nursing, community based rehabilitation, mental health services for older people, residential learning disability and inpatient community hospital services transfer to the Clackmannanshire and Stirling Health and Social Care Partnership by September 2019.    There are also plans to delegate responsibility for additional local services to the Partnership by March 2019.

Cathie Cowan, Chief Executive, NHS Forth Valley, who has extensive experience of joining up health and social care services in other parts of the country, has made integration a key priority since she took up post in January 2018.

She explained: “Joining up local health and social care services provides real opportunities to improve the care and experience of local people across Clackmannanshire and Stirling. It will also help us to reduce delays and look at new, innovative and more cost effective ways of providing care which makes best use of existing staff skills and resources.

“I’d like to thank the council Chief Executives and our Chief Officer for the Clackmannanshire and Stirling Health and Social Care Partnership for helping to progress this important work over the last few months.”

Nikki Bridle, Acting Chief Executive, Clackmannanshire Council said: “The continued progress we are seeing in the joining up of health and social care services is very positive for our local residents as we work to provide these important services in our community in the most efficient way possible.  There has been a lot of very positive joint working between all the organisations to achieve this progress, and I look forward to this continuing in the future as we continue the integration process.”