The ALLIANCE People at the Centre-Mobilisation Recovery Group programme reviews work in 2020

We captured people's experiences of health and wellbeing during COVID-19 to help inform the re-mobilisation of healthcare services.

In 2020, the ALLIANCE’s People at the Centre – Mobilisation Recovery Group programme engaged with over 1,000 individuals and 100 organisations to capture the lived health and wellbeing experience during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to inform the re-mobilisation of healthcare services.

People at the Centre (PatC) activity was led by the ALLIANCE in collaboration with delivery partners including Healthcare Improvement Scotland – Community Engagement, Public Health Scotland, Inclusion Scotland, Care Inspectorate, Scottish Care and the ALLIANCE’s own membership.

We designed a programme of engagement activity, underpinned by an Equalities and Human Rights Based Approach, that included:

• Facilitating a national conversation on health and care in Scotland
• Developing an ALLIANCE member reference group
• Building public health-informed, person centred, engagement
• Creating a living profile of health inequalities challenges, experiences and solutions
• Capturing examples of community resilience best practice

Activities were delivered digitally, via telephone calls and the postal service, and (in line with guidance) face-to-face. People were engaged in the programme from every local authority area in Scotland, and across urban and rural communities. Over 1,000 people in Scotland shared their views, resulting in a rich bank of experiential data. More than 100 public, third sector, independent and academic organisations submitted contributions, including thirty-three Integration Authorities and NHS Health Boards.

We ensured the engagement programme included a diverse range of perspectives, and specific activities were delivered focusing on the experiences of people living with Long COVID, disabled people, people who access social care, people from different ethnic minority communities and faith groups, and people who live in care homes. In addition – through the ALLIANCE membership – there was a breadth of experience shared by people living with long term conditions and those with sensory loss.

PatC took a thematic, qualitative approach to analysing the experiences, identifying the common and divergent themes within people’s feedback, case studies and wider published literature. We worked with a range of internal and external partners, including Dr Emma Miller and Dr Nieves Ehrenberg, to ensure a robust approach.

The findings and analysis informed a programme report, which is due for publication in February 2021. We will connect with relevant organisations and networks to share our findings and have already established connections with the Scottish Access Collaborative, the Ethnic Minority Resilience Network, the Scottish Government Primary Care Team, and the Rehabilitation Framework Advisory Group.

Reports of other ALLIANCE programme activities during 2020 can be found in our News section.

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