Improving Health in Scotland - THE CHALLENGE
PROGRESS AND PARTNERSHIP
Performance Management processes will be used to ensure that NHSScotland (including NHS Health Scotland) gives health improvement a high priority in the planning and delivery of services.
The Health Improvement Directorate will also use the resources of NHS Health Scotland and other networks to help assess the health impact of a wide range of policies at Executive and local levels.
The introduction of Community Planning as the key framework for partnerships and initiatives at the regional, local and neighbourhood level will have a main theme around health. This provides a very significant opportunity for public services to work together differently but with a shared agenda. In addition, the Local Government Bill provides statutory underpinning for Community Planning and places a duty on partners, including NHS Boards, to participate in the process. In particular close working, effective communication and co-operation between health and local authorities is already taking place and remains a clear emphasis throughout this framework for action. With this in mind the Scottish Executive Health Department will continue to sponsor the Health Team within COSLA. In addition, Community Planning dovetails with the Joint Future Agenda which aims to improve delivery of community care services through better joint working between health, housing and social work.
The Health Improvement Division's relationship with organisations like COSLA, SOLACE, SCVO, Voluntary Health Scotland and many others will be on the basis of partnership. Nonetheless, it is hoped that the Health Improvement Challenge will give clarity to that relationship and facilitate partnership working with the aim of delivering the outcomes set out in this document.
NHS Health Scotland will work with the Executive and other networks to create a mechanism for evaluating the health improvement challenge plan and to focus on key aspects of it that require more focused research.
Delivering the full range of actions identified within this framework will require a range of mechanisms as well as different organisations and individuals working together differently, often in new, or more focused, ways. Only by working together across departmental and organisational boundaries, across themes and special focus programmes, and with the involvement and partnership of the people of Scotland, will we achieve our goal of a step change in the health of the people of Scotland.