Integration the focus of major RCN event

Published: 22 November 2012

Providing seamless services that meet needs and allow people to live as independently as possible is the focus of a major RCN Scotland conference on integrated health and social care this week.

The conference brings together nurses and staff from local authorities, general practice and the voluntary sector to share experiences with a diverse range of potential partners.

Delivering yesterday’s keynote speech, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing Alex Neil MSP emphasised the Scottish Government’s commitment to working with nurses and the RCN on the process to integrate health and social care. 

Commenting on day one of the two-day conference, Michael Brown, Chair of the RCN Scotland board, said: “Today’s conference was all about listening to the perspectives of those people on the frontline who will be directly affected by the integration of health and social care.  Whether a health care support worker, a student, a registered nurse or a partner to nursing, integration will have an impact on everyone.”

He added: “The change we are facing is complex and it is people and their relationships, not organisational structures, which are at the heart of successful integration. We must continue the process of listening to each other and remember that the driving force behind integrated care has to be the needs of patients first and foremost.”