The Self Management Network review of 2017

Our Self Management Network team review activities over 2017 for our annual report.

In 2017 Self Management Network Scotland reached the milestone of 500 members across Scotland and with members based in each Health and Social Care Partnership area.  Through its reach the network is continuing to share learning about what works and promote self management as the standard approach to health and social care, and continuing to promote and utilise the messages of the My Condition, My Terms, My Life campaign.

Self Management Network Scotland has continued to support the development of local networks around self management – including a growing network across Grampian and the development of a network in Edinburgh during 2017.

We held our largest networking event to date at the beginning of the year, focusing on ways the network can be used to make change happen by strengthening our connections as a network and sharing our learning on spreading the message of self management.

We are proving that networks are successful to spread learning and create the conditions for change to take place.

The self management team’s development work has strengthened its connections and partnerships in 2017. This included working in partnership with the Active and Independent Living Programme Improvement Advisor to host three events exploring new ways of working between Allied Health Professionals and the third sector that support personal outcomes for health and wellbeing. The events strengthened ALLIANCE connections in the three Health and Social Care Partnership areas and increased understanding of what taking a self management approach means in practice.

Our Development Officer is leading on some improvement work as part of the National Strategy for Public Libraries. The work is designed to support public library staff to better understand the role they can have in supporting self management and is being coproduced by people living with long term conditions to ensure their voice is at the centre.

Self Management Week 2017 was the most successful to date.  We received a record number of nominations for the Self Management Awards and held the first public vote for Self Management Project of the Year. During the week we welcomed 180 people to the Scottish Parliament to celebrate the dedication of the people and projects shortlisted. The shortlisted nominations reflected the diverse and inspiring work taking place across Scotland that is helping to change lives through self management.

Also in Self Management Week, the ALLIANCE welcomed delegates from across the United Kingdom for the first Four Nations Self Management Summit. The summit brought together a collective of leaders to consider what collaboration across the UK’s four health and social care systems can teach us about “what needs to be done in order that everyone is able to self manage on their own terms?”  The day supported the sharing of learning centred around experiences of whole system change. Three broad themes emerged – the importance of building the will, developing and sharing ideas and having a plan and method for implementation.  The ALLIANCE will continue to support this UK wide network to ensure self management continues to be a core driver to the change within health and social care.

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