“We should be at the very heart of decision making”
- Written by: Richard Meade — Marie Curie — Head of Public Affairs, Scotland
- Published: 5th June 2018

We asked Richard for his views at our Action: The 2nd Health and Social Care Integration Event.
At our Annual Conference, Action: The 2nd Health and Social Care Integration Event on 4 June 2018, we interviewed a range of delegates to monitor their opinions on the conference and their thoughts on how to implement action in health and social care.
Richard’s role with Marie Curie (this link will take you away from our website) means that he is responsible for leading the charity’s policy and public affairs work in Scotland by representing the work of the charity to the Scottish Parliament and Government as well as campaigning to ensure that terminally ill patients and their families get the best possible care and support they need, wherever they are.
We asked Richard:
If you were to prioritise one thing (and money and resource was no object) to action what would it be and how would it improve health and social care?
Richard – I believe that the third sector needs to have a voting voice on integration joint boards. The third sector brings with it, unrivalled experience of front line services, working in partnership with NHS boards and social care partners and we should be at the very heart of decision making around what services look like locally and we should have a vote and voice at integration board level.
You can also watch Richard’s interview on the ALLIANCE YouTube channel (this link will take you away from our website).
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