Health and Social Care Academy round up 2023

Find out about what our Health and Social Academy has been involved in this year.

During 2023, the Health and Social Care Academy undertook extensive engagement with ALLIANCE members and partners to inform the refresh of the ‘Five Provocations for Health and Social Care’. The new ‘Five Ambitions for Health and Care’ set out the conditions for realising long term, meaningful and sustainable change. Each of the Ambitions is accompanied by a case study which highlights change in practice. To celebrate the launch of the Five Ambitions, the Academy hosted an online event which featured a panel member from each of the case studies examples. The event also provided an opportunity for discussion using the Ambition’s reflective questions.

At the start of the year, we hosted our first ever hybrid event in partnership with the Scottish Human Rights Consortium Being Human: human rights defenders. The event was chaired by Jen Ang from JustRight Scotland followed by a panel of three human rights defenders from health and social care including: Maxine Meighan from About Dementia, Bushra Riaz from Kidney Research UK, and Luca Stevenson, from the European Sex Workers’ Rights Alliance.

The Courageous Leadership series continued this year. Contributions included an interview with Elena Soper from YWCA, which was published on International Women’s Day and an interview with Kayla-Megan Burns, activist and convenor of Disability Equality Scotland.  

The Academy also published two documents explaining the importance of human rights and the Human Rights Act 1998 in Scotland, within the context of health and social care.

The Academy collaborated with the Children and Young People Programme to host a Being Human event looking at UNCRC: Beyond Incorporation. The event was delivered in partnership with Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Right). This event was chaired by Kayla-Megan Burns and involved a keynote from Nick Hobbs, Children and Young People’s Commssioner’s Office followed by a discussion panel.

Following research undertaken in 2022, in partnership with Engender, the Academy published a substantial research report which captured experiences of pregnancy and maternity services during COVID-19 titled “Trauma, isolation and abandonment” experiences of pregnancy and maternity services in Scotland during COVID-19. The report draws on survey responses from over 200 participants and highlights the impact of restrictions on antenatal care, fertility treatment, miscarriage, baby loss, birth, and during the postnatal period. The findings from this research were shared with representatives from the Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry’s ‘Let’s be Heard’ at a small engagement event attended by research participants. The report was also included in the wider ALLIANCE witness statement to the Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry.

The ALLIANCE commissioned and published independent research which explores accessibility of information on the right to health in Scotland. The research makes a series of recommendations for Scottish Government and healthcare bodies, the Third Sector, and the ALLIANCE. The research highlights the need for accessible, practical, and inclusive information on human rights as well as training and capacity building.  

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