Consultation on the proposed changes to the Dumfries and Galloway Integration Scheme

Dumfries and Galloway Council and NHS Dumfries and Galloway carried out a public consultation on proposed changes to the Health and Social Care Integration Scheme.

The Integration Scheme is the legal agreement that explains how health and social care services are planned and delivered together through the Integration Joint Board (IJB).

The consultation was open for one month and took place to help shape the final version of the Integration Scheme before it was submitted to the Scottish Government for approval.

Background

The Integration Scheme is a statutory document. This means it is required by law.

Following a request from NHS Dumfries and Galloway, the council and NHS carried out a joint review of the Scheme. The review looked at how the Scheme was working and how it could be improved.

The proposed changes were informed by feedback from stakeholders and focussed on improving governance, clarity of roles and how services are delivered.

What was proposed

The consultation included proposals to:

• refocus some delegated health services on areas where working together makes the biggest difference
• reduce the number of voting members on the Integration Joint Board from five to four from each organisation
• separate the statutory officer roles of Chief Officer and Chief Finance Officer to improve clarity and accountability