How communities help shape future health and social care
When there are any significant changes to the way health and care services are delivered, the residents, users of the services and communities affected must be informed and their views and opinions on the changes, and its impact, sought, recorded and considered before the planning and designing of the new service.
Workshops and events are being organised to ask communities what they think of the current services they are receiving and if they think they are being delivered in the right way and from the right premises. We also want to know how you think services could be improved and what they might look like in the future.
The re-design of services must also consider where services are best delivered from. Many buildings where health care is currently being delivered are coming to the end of their natural life or may not be fit for purpose any longer or may not have the facilities needed to offer new high quality services. The views of your community are important because they will shape the way future health services are delivered in your area.
In gathering the views of your community EAHSCP comply with:
- The National Standards for Community Engagement which outlines best practice guidance for engagement between communities and public agencies.
- Inform, Engage, Consult CEL4 (2010) which provides detailed requirements for participation.
Gathering your views
A workshop event was held on Thursday 7 November 2019 at Take A Bow Opportunity Centre in Kilmarnock from 1pm until 4.30pm
What happened at the workshop event?
Over 100 people representing a wide range of stakeholders attended the event including a number of the health and social care professionals who live and work in the area. Along with community members who use the services there were representatives from Acute Services, Primary Care, District Nursing, Social Work, Allied Health Professionals and those volunteers from the third sector and staff from the independent sector who provide services.
Those attending the event were welcomed by the Director of the East Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership, Eddie Fraser, who delivered a short presentation which provided an understanding of why changes to health and social care services are needed. This was followed by a presentation on the over-arching Health and Wellbeing objectives of Caring for Ayrshire, a programme of work looking to consider what services will be needed in the longer term (5-10years).
There was also a musical performance by Catalyst Voices (Centrestage), and a number of display stands were available to showcase the theme of health and wellbeing and the opportunities offered by digital innovations. The main aim of the event was to gather the views of those attending on the important issues affecting the health and wellbeing of the people and communities in Kilmarnock. Views were gathered in the workshops where the following questions were considered.
The workshops
The workshops considering the following questions:
- What is the story of community need and potential in Kilmarnock?
- What do we want wellbeing to look like in Kilmarnock?
- What are the benefits (and barriers) of a more joined up approach of well being in Kilmarnock?
The final discussion of the day was based on what success would look like if all the issues were addressed.
Outcomes and results
The opinions and views collected at the workshop were analysed and key themes, concerns and ideas captured. A report on the views of the community is available and this report will be used as a reference document in the wider planning process for the development of services to be delivered in the Kilmarnock area. View the Kilmarnock Health and Wellbeing Stakeholder Engagement Workshop Report (PDF 458Kb)
The stage after you tell us your views
This event was the start of a Community Engagement process in which the views of the community will inform how best to deliver services and which additional services are expected to be needed in the future.
Please check this page again at the end of March 2020 for an update and further information.