Health and Social Care Integration

From April 2015, the way we plan and deliver health and social care services for the citizens of Glasgow City changed. This will be done jointly by Glasgow City Council and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) within a new construct called the Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership.

You can find out more about the background to integration and access our meeting papers on our Partnership website.

The Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014 received Royal Assent, completing the process of legislation through Parliament, on 1 April 2014.

The Act aims to support improvement in the quality and consistency of services through the integration of health and social care. The Act states that Health Boards and Local Authorities should, as a minimum, integrate services for adults and that partners can integrate other health and social care services (such as children's services) should they wish.

Glasgow City Council and NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde have agreed that all community health and social care services, whether provided to adults or children, will be integrated.

The Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act aims:

• To improve the quality and consistency of services for patients, service users, carers and their families;
• To provide seamless, joined-up and quality health and social care services where people are cared for in their own homes or in a homely-setting where it is safe to do so; and
• To ensure resources are used effectively and efficiently to deliver services that meet the increasing number of people with longer-term and often complex needs, many of whom are older.

The Act requires the Local Authority and Health Board to prepare jointly an integration scheme setting out how this joint working is to be achieved. There is a choice of ways in which they may do this: the Health Board and Local Authority can either delegate functions between each other, or can both delegate to a third body called the Integration Joint Board. Delegation between the Health Board and Local Authority is commonly referred to as a 'lead agency' arrangement. Delegation to an Integration Joint Board is commonly referred to as a 'body corporate' arrangement.

Glasgow City Council and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have agreed to adopt the Integration Joint Board or 'body corporate' model.

Within this model, the planning of integrated health and social care services will be led by the Integration Joint Board, made up of voting members - eight Elected Members from Glasgow City Council and eight Non-Executive Directors of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde - and non-voting members as prescribed by the Act and associated regulations, such as the Chief Social Work Officer, Clinical Director, Chief Officer and individuals representing staff, service users, patients and carers, and the third and independent sector.

The role of the Integration Joint Board is to develop a Strategic Plan for the partnership area and monitor progress towards delivery of that plan.

The Integration Joint Board is established by Order of the Scottish Ministers upon approval of the Integration Scheme.  The Integration Scheme for Glasgow City was approved by the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport and was laid in the Scottish Parliament on 8 January 2016.  It came into force on 6 February 2016, and the Integration Joint Board was established at its first meeting. You can view the GCHSCP Integration Joint Board Papers.

Ahead of the formal establishment of the Integration Joint Board, a Shadow Integration Joint Board was constituted in June 2014 to oversee the development of integrated arrangements within Glasgow. Papers from previous meetings of the Shadow Integration Joint Board are available on our Partnership website.

Previous papers to Glasgow City Council Executive Committee and the Board of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde regarding the integration of health and social care are also available via the links below:

Glasgow City Council Executive Committee
► 20 February 2014
► 5 February 2015

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Board
► 18 February 2014
► 20 January 2015