ALLIANCE Live reviews activity in 2020

We broadcast interviews, webinars and short videos with individuals and organisations across the wide spectrum of health and social care.

ALLIANCE Live kicked off activity in 2020 with an interview with the then-Chief Executive of the NHS, Malcom Wright at St Andrews House (this link will take you away from our website). Malcolm talked openly about the progress of the NHS and his hopes for its future. Moving into February, during the Firestarter Festival, we recorded a podcast with Govanhill Community Trust and Mind in Draw (this link will take you away from our website). They were partners in an Academy event capturing the opinions of Govanhill residents about how health and social care support and services could be improved.

As everything moved remotely due to the pandemic, ALLIANCE Live published a collection of short length COVID-19 related advice podcasts on various topics and for groups of the population such as carers (this link will take you away from our website). In April, as the Scottish Government ramped up public health messaging during lockdown, we secured the first of many interviews with National Clinical Director, Jason Leitch (this link will take you away from our website). This was the first time we also extended the opportunity to members to submit their questions, which has since become our standard practice.

As the year progressed into summer, ALLIANCE Live interviews continued, and with them the opportunity to explore many different topics and hear the views of people from across health and social care. In May,  Dr Donald Macaskill, Chief Executive of Scottish Care, provided an honest and frank assessment (this link will take you away from our website) on the treatment of Scotland’s carers and care homes by members of the media. In June, our Chief Executive, Ian Welsh interviewed Sallyann Kelly, Chief Executive of Aberlour (Scotland’s Children’s Charity) and Morgan Ross (this link will take you away from our website), a young relief youth worker at Aberlour about how COVID-19 was affecting children in poverty.

Audiences learned more about the experiences of those shielding in July through a podcast with former ALLIANCE Associate Director Audrey Birt and Kirsty Gibson (this link will take you away from our website). They described the impact it has had on themselves, their family and friends and how they think experiences could be improved. In the final month of summer, Angiolina Foster, NHS 24 Chief Executive discussed the learning that has been taken from the pandemic (this link will take you away from our website) and how the service was preparing for the pressures of winter.

With the remobilisation of health and social care building momentum, the final months of 2020 for ALLIANCE Live delivered further opportunities to spotlight areas of interest and innovation. Ron Culley, the newly appointed Chief Executive of Quarriers was a guest in October providing a considered reflection (this link will take you away from our website) on the commissioning process within health and social care and how the pandemic provides a chance to move away from the tried and tested methods that play a role in the labouring progress of integration. As part of the ALLIANCE’s work around reducing gambling harm, Martin Paterson tells his story of gambling harm and the effects it had on his life (this link will take you away from our website). December’s highlight featured an interview with Judith Robertson, Chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission, to mark International Human Rights Day (this link will take you away from our website). A subject that is often in the background but pervades in all workings of society.

ALLIANCE Live 2020 statistics:

• 56 podcasts – 9 Wellbeing Wednesdays
• 35 videos – 25 interviews and 10 Wellbeing Wednesdays
• 5 webinars inviting 12 speakers (1 from Rome, Italy) with 161 delegates. 1 Wellbeing Wednesday

Speakers and guests during 2020 included:

• 8 academics
• 12 individuals with lived experience
• health professionals from 6 different disciplines
• 8 members of Scottish Government staff
• 14 Directors and Chief Executives
• 37 colleagues from third sector organisations
• 4 appearances from National Clinical Director, Jason Leitch

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

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