Gaun Yersel – 15 years later

Self Management Programme Manager Grace reflects on the fifteenth anniversary of Gaun Yersel, the Self Management Strategy for Scotland.

“Self Management is not a replacement for services. Gaun yersel doesn’t mean going it alone.”

This quote, one of the five principles of self management set out in Gaun Yersel, the Self Management Strategy for Scotland, sums up our approach to self management at the ALLIANCE. We work towards a Scotland where everyone has a strong voice and enjoys their right to live well with dignity and respect, and supported self management is an essential part of that.

In the 15 years since Gaun Yersel was originally published, a lot has changed. We’ve been administering the Self Management Fund on behalf of Scottish Government which has provided over £26 million to 432 projects. We’ve seen huge progress in digital health and care technologies that can support self management, and we’re still seeing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and cost of living crisis on people across the country.

Gaun Yersel was written with and for people with long term conditions, and all five principles of self management and the core message of the strategy remain foundational to our work. With all that said, we think it’s time for an update to acknowledge the advances we’ve made, the changes in the health and social care landscape, and the impact of the Fund, so we’re giving it a refresh this year.

If you would like to be involved in the refresh, you can sign up to an online session that the self management team will be hosting on 16 May to gather views from the Self Management Network Scotland.

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