Integration in Action Event – Be Human

The ALLIANCE and the International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC) Scotland, held the second Integration in Action event.

The ALLIANCE, in partnership with the International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC) Scotland, are holding a series of Integration in Action events looking at the Academy’s Five Ambitions for the Future of Health and Social Care. The Ambitions aim to create a more equitable society which supports everyone to thrive, not just survive: 

• Be Human – We are all human and should be treated with dignity. Everyone can thrive if our rights are protected, defended and promoted. 
• Lead Courageously – We can all be leaders in our own lives, communities and workplaces. 
• Reimagine Investment – We can transform society for everyone’s benefit with sustainable investment, patience, partnership and valuing one another. 
• Share Power – We make changes in our own lives and communities when power is shared. 
• Measure Outcomes – We should measure success in health and care with personal and rights based outcomes, not just short-term targets. 

The first event focused on the factors that contribute to integration, examples of good practice and what the future looks like and the second event, held on Wednesday 18 September, took a closer look at the Ambition ‘Be Human’. It was attended by around 40representatives from Health and Social Care Partnerships and the third sector, people working in health and social care, policy makers and individuals with lived experience of accessing help and support. We heard from five speakers, showcasing different perspectives of being human and sharing examples of the Ambition in action and how they are contributing to successful integration.

The first of the five presentations on the day came from Professor Alan Millar, Independent Chair of the National Collaborative on Drug Deaths. He shared insights into ‘Be Human’ in the context of substance use and drug deaths in Scotland. He is currently working towards launching a Charter of Rights in December this year, for people affected by substance use. With drug related deaths at an all time high in Scotland his work to shift the power, from those who currently make decisions onto those with lived experience of the effects of substance use, has never been more important. Along with a team of 15 people representing different forms of lived experience, Alan is establishing a human rights based approach, changing the narrative from ‘self stigma to see me; what has my journey been like, what are my needs and what are my rights?’ With the backing of the First Minister, and with the UN watching on closely, the hope is that the charter will be embedded into the health and social care landscape and will lead to a toolkit providing practical tools for the future.

Kate Robertson, Community Development Adviser at Outside the Box, works alongside people across Scotland to support groups who want to make a difference in their communities. Her presentation detailed how they have been engaging with Syrian women, working to overcome the challenges they are facing integrating into life in Scotland. They look at the lives of those they work with as a whole and never one thing in isolation. They use trauma informed peer support, they listen to the women and learn what they want from their lives, what they want to contribute to the community and how they want to do it. Now seven years into the ‘Moments of Freedom’ project, they have built collaborative, trusting, dignified and respectful relationships with the women, enabling them to influence change and setting them up to be a recognised group with experience and valuable insights. Delegates at the event commented that they were “so impressed by the work of Moments of Freedom initiative and how it has embraced true peer values and the core starting point of listening and learning in an equal way around respect and dignity….it is a great example to learn from.”

Richard Meade delivered the third presentation. As the Director of Devolved Nations at Carers UK, he leads the Carers Scotland team and has worked on policy issues and research relating to unpaid carers throughout his career. His presentation highlighted some insightful facts; there are an estimated eight hundred thousand unpaid carers in Scotland, one quarter provide more than 50 hours of care per week and 2 in 3 people will become carers at some point in their life. Caring is known to directly affect your health and wellbeing and many put off dealing with their own health concerns. It is also thought that 28% of unpaid carers are living in poverty and he puts this down to an inadequate social security system failing them time and time again. Richard is passionate about carers rights, they deserve the right to a break and they should be valued. As he said in the conclusion of his presentation, “rights are so important, but they need to be worth more than the paper they are written on”.

Margaret Moncrieff worked as a social worker for over 25 years and is now the IJB Lived Experience Representative for South Lanarkshire. She has personal experience caring for family members and advocating for them, giving her insight into the needs of people who access services and their families. She has used her role to strengthen the voice of those with lived experience and ensure their voices and views are heard. Her work with The Forum, offers training and mentoring to members to ensure they understand their role and that they are supported to undertake their responsibilities in the best way they can. On a national level, she is part of a Community Panel supported by staff at the Scottish Community Development Centre and funded by the Health Foundation UK to produce a Capital Health Impact Assessment Tool and website to ensure all capital projects throughout the UK take account of the health and views of the local community. The website will be going live in the next few months. Margaret’s work is focused on strengthening the voice of lived experience and ensuring they are seen as “equal partners in care”. Her presentation showed her dedication to this, with delegates saying that it was inspiring to hear that “people with a determination can make a change to other people’s lives.”

Pawel Kopec brought the event to a close with his presentation focusing on his work providing immigration advice to EU citizens in Scotland and raising awareness about their rights to housing, employment and access to public funding. His role as Outreach and Information Officer with Citizens Rights Project has become more prevalent since Brexit and he delivers in person workshops, giving people the information they need, in a language they understand, with the aim of empowering them to defend their rights and find their place in the community. He works in a multilingual team and has found this helps to build relationships with the people they work with and helps them to get the vital information in an accessible way.

This event showcased what is currently happening within the health and social care landscape and how people are championing our human rights and pushing towards a system where everyone is treated as a human being, with dignity and respect.

There was opportunity for questions and reflections. One attendee shared that they enjoyed the “breadth and variety of presentations – gave great insight into pertinent work in the Be Human and Rights based challenges and opportunities within Health and Social Care at present” while others enjoyed the networking opportunities and the shared learning from the event. It also gave delegates a “greater understanding, case studies and contacts which will be useful in contributions and involvement in progressing several Health policy initiatives.” It was noted that the topics within the presentations were common and much of what was being shared “resonates and reflects our experiences and learning.” It was great to bring together people with an interest in the Ambitions and to showcase some of the “good work ongoing out there.”

The next event will take place on Thursday 23 January 2025 from 2pm-4pm and will focus on another of the Ambitions. We look forward to the next set of empowering and insightful presentations at that event.

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