DUMFRIES and Galloway Health and Social Care Partnership senior managers are ready to take questions on its performance in 2021-2022, following the publication of its latest Annual Review.
The Review, covering the year from April 2021 to March 2022, praises health and social care staff for their work fighting the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic – and highlights many pressures which continue to this day. Senior management will discuss the review and answer questions in an online meeting later this month. Questions can be sent in by visiting https://dghscp.co.uk/performance-and-data/annual-review/
David Rowland is the Director of Strategic Planning and Transformation for the HSCP, and he says: “The Annual Review is how the Partnership is held to account. The Scottish government has set nine health and wellbeing objectives for every region in the country, and we have to hold ourselves to them and report how well we are doing.
“2021-2022 has been a very tough year for Dumfries and Galloway, and health and social care have been under unprecedented pressure – pressure that continues to this day. The Review recognises areas where we have done well, and areas where we have not yet met our ambitions and aspirations. It also talks about the change and innovation that has happened over the year, a lot of it driven by the pandemic, and how that has improved services for people in the region.
“The Partnership is accountable to the people of Dumfries and Galloway. Anyone can ask senior management a question about the Partnership’s performance at the meeting this month, and get an answer in public.”
A panel of senior managers from Dumfries and Galloway Council and NHS Dumfries and Galloway, including Partnership Chief Officer Julie White, DGC Chief Social Work Officer Lillian Cringles, Partnership Chief Finance Officer Katy Kerr, Integration Joint Board Chair Laura Douglas, and IJB Vice-Chair Andy McFarlane will discuss the review’s findings in an online meeting on 25th January.
All questions are welcome – anyone in the region, including Partnership staff, can send in a question for the panel by visiting https://dghscp.co.uk/performance-and-data/annual-review/ A video and transcript of the meeting will be published shortly after the meeting finishes.
The Review is available now online at https://dghscp.co.uk/performance-and-data/annual-review/ and highlights some of the partnership’s achievements. Alcohol and drug treatments are promptly available, and most people say they are able to look after their own health – Dumfries and Galloway is significantly ahead of the Scottish average in both areas. The region also has some of the most successful vaccination programmes in the UK, both for COVID-19 and for other diseases.
However, rising demand for health and social care, together with staff shortages, put a heavy burden on the people working across the Partnership. Waiting lists have grown, and in some cases planned care and operations have been delayed.
Support for unpaid Carers has been a priority with the opening of the new Carers Centre at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary. The Partnership has also been working on making care more accessible and more efficient, through projects such as Home Teams for coordinating care delivered at home, Care Call to provide rapid assistance to vulnerable people at home, and the Single Access Point for reaching all health and social care services across the region.
The Annual Performance Report is available at https://dghscp.co.uk/performance-and-data/annual-review/ An Easy Read version is also available for anyone who has difficulty reading.
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