"Integration is crucial in enabling leaders to share decision-making, empower individuals, and champion the voice of lived experience."

In leading with courage and compassion in health and social care, integration is crucial in enabling leaders to share decision-making, empower individuals, and champion the voice of lived experience. In line with this, the Connected Communities series highlighted six third sector organisations during the last quarter who lead courageously and share decision-making with the individuals and communities they support.

LGBT Health and Wellbeing delivers a range of services and events designed to meet the needs of LGBTQ+ adults across Scotland, which involves working collegiately and collaboratively with others in the sector to make shared decisions. As a result, the organisation have transformed the lives of many LGBTQ+ people in Scotland by championing their lived experiences and ensuring they can lead the way in making decisions about the services and support they need.

Similarly, Autism and Neurodiversity North Scotland (A-ND) is an exemplary organisation leading with kindness and compassion to ensure children and families receiving support feel empowered in making decisions about their care. The charity offers an innovative sensory environment that has been co-designed in collaboration with the children and families they support, highlighting a collective leadership culture that is committed to putting people at the centre by ensuring decision-making is shared.

In empowering students with additional support needs, Macaulay College offers an innovative educational service that ensures students can become leaders in their own lives. Through collaborative working and community involvement, the organisation enable students to learn social skills and key life skills, ensuring they can make crucial decisions for themselves throughout their lives.

Additionally, Bield Housing and Care is an innovative organisation who champion co-production and co-design approaches to ensure decision making is shared. As one of Scotland’s leading providers of housing and care services for older adults, the charity use new technologies to intervene early and prevent illnesses from happening, which highlights the strong and compassionate leadership at the heart of the organisation.

Art in Healthcare is also an exemplary organisation, who by exhibiting their art collection in health and social care settings, allow individuals to express their lived experiences and gain a sense of empowerment. By putting people at the centre, the organisation is nurturing strong leaders by ensuring people gain the confidence to volunteer, go to college, or improve their relationships outside of workshops.

To add to this, the SPFL Trust share decision-making with their 39 community football trusts to develop and deliver programmes that improve the lives of people impacted by poverty. As a result, the organisation recognise that local people are best placed to make local decisions, which ensures decision-making is shared and strong and compassionate leadership is forged at a local level.

In line with this, it is clear that health and social care integration is crucial in empowering individuals and communities to share decision-making when it affects them the most, whilst nurturing strong, courageous and compassionate leaders in the process. As a result, in creating a Scotland where people are at the centre of decisions about their own lives, health and social care integration is essential in ensuring everyone can enjoy their right to live well with dignity and respect.

You can read all Connected Communities case studies here: https://www.alliance-scotland.org.uk/blog/case_studies/?projects=connected-communities

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