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Response to inquiry into alternative pathways into primary care

  • Area of Work: The ALLIANCE
  • Type: News Item
  • Published: 17th February 2022
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The ALLIANCE has responded to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee's inquiry into how people access primary care.

The ALLIANCE welcomes the opportunity to respond to the call for views on the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee’s inquiry into how people access primary care in Scotland.

There is significant potential to make greater use of so-called “alternative” pathways to health and reduce current pressures on general practice and improve people’s health and wellbeing. Our response highlights the positive impact of Community Links Practitioners and resources such as A Local Information System for Scotland (ALISS). Community Links Practitioners enable GPs to support people requiring medical assessment and advice, by supporting people and signposting them to support for a wider range of health and social care supports. ALISS helps people in Scotland find and share information about services, groups, activities and resources that help them live well. We believe that people should be able to easily access information about what is available in their community.

While we have used the language of “alternative pathways” throughout our response, the ALLIANCE suggests that Community Links Practitioners, allied health professionals and resources such as ALISS should not be seen as “alternative” pathways to healthcare and support. Rather, they should be seen as an integral and normal part of an interconnected health and social care system, following a House of Care model, which maximises the available options and control for people who require support.

You can read our full response below.

Resources:

ALLIANCE response to inquiry into alternative pathways into primary care (.docx))
Download Word Document (86 KB)
ALLIANCE response to inquiry into alternative pathways into primary care (.pdf)
Download PDF Document (233 KB)
Download all document resources

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