ALLIANCE publishes third sector response to the Scottish Government’s NHS Recovery Plan

The response draws on interviews with third sector leaders and makes recommendations for the future of the NHS in Scotland.

Following the publication of the Scottish Government’s NHS Recovery Plan (this link will take you away from our website) in August this year, the ALLIANCE conducted a series of interviews with third sector leaders focusing on their priorities for the country’s NHS going forward.

The resulting ‘Putting People at the Centre of NHS Scotland Recovery‘ publication explores the key themes arising from these conversations, as well as incorporating key ALLIANCE activity, and culminates in a set of 18 recommendations that aim to put people at the heart of the processes around recovery and remobilisation.

The detrimental impacts of COVID-19 on Scotland’s NHS are undeniable. Staff across the whole Service have worked, mainly, in crisis level conditions since March 2020, and NHS leaders in Scotland are now warning of the impact of the Omicron variant as we mover further into the winter. There is a challenge in focusing on recovery when still in the midst of the pandemic. However, the wheels of recovery have been put in motion and the opportunity to recover in a way that champions people accessing treatment and support from the NHS must not be missed.

Our publication ultimately, as captured in the title, is a call to ensure that we listen to the voices of lived experience and that those voices inform policy, practice and service design going forward. We call for a human rights based approach throughout, the inclusion of people who are marginalised and minoritised and for a careful consideration of the implementation of digitally based services to prevent digital exclusion.

Based on our ALLIANCE Live interview series ‘NHS Recovery Plan: Third Sector Focus’, but also drawing on our work on the Women’s Health Plan, the report on our survey earlier this year of people accessing support for chronic pain, and the establishment of the Scottish Sensory Hub at the ALLIANCE, the publication is wide ranging. However, there are many areas beyond those that we touch upon that require equal consideration from a recovery perspective. This publication, therefore, represents a basis on which we recommend the recovery of all NHS services are based, with the voices of lived experience at the centre.

We also highlight the importance of supporting and safeguarding the mental health and wellbeing of NHS staff as well as staff working in the wider health and social care network of services across the statutory sector, third sector and independent sector.

In our capacity at the ALLIANCE in including people with lived experience in our work, we will continue to platform their voices going forward. The publication of our third sector response to the Scottish Government’s NHS Recovery Plan marks an important point as we look to the future.

Read the full publication: Putting People at the Centre of NHS Scotland Recovery

A summary video of the NHS Recovery Plan: Third Sector Focus series is now available. Bringing together commentary from Health Journalist, Pennie Taylor and key messages of contributors from throughout the series, the production delivers a cohesive response to the Scottish Government’s NHS Recovery Plan.

Watch: Summary – NHS Recovery Plan: Third Sector Focus (this link will take you away from our website)

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