IT was standing room only at the second Dumfries and Galloway Health and Social Care Partnership (DGHSCP) Annual Review last week.
An estimated 60 to 70 people attended the event which was held at Creebridge House Hotel in Newton Stewart last Thursday morning, and which for the first time was streamed live on the Internet.
DGHSCP Chief Officer Julie White said: “We were delighted with the number of people who attended Thursday’s event, and which included many people working within the fields of health and social care.
“This was a very important event for DGHSCP, taking the form of a structured review of the work we have been carrying out over the past 12 months and reporting progress against delivery of nine national outcomes.
“We are the first partnership in Scotland to hold an annual review in public of health and social care.
“And this year, acknowledging that many people might not be able to attend, the annual review event was broadcast live for the first time on the Internet.
“People were able to follow proceedings live on the brand new DGHSCP Facebook page which launched on the day, or watch it later, and were also able to watch on the brand new website www.dghscp.co.uk .”
Dumfries and Galloway Health and Social Care Partnership was established as a public body in 2016, and is responsible for the delivery of the vast majority of health and adult social care services in the region.
Services are commissioned by the Integration Joint Board (IJB) from NHS Dumfries and Galloway and Dumfries and Galloway Council, who on Thursday had the chance to scrutinise and challenge the direction being set by the Integration Joint Board.
Dumfries and Galloway Council was represented by Chief Executive Gavin Stevenson and Council Leader Elaine Murray, while NHS Dumfries and Galloway was represented by its Chief Executive, Jeff Ace.
The panel representing the IJB comprised Julie White, Chairwoman Penny Halliday, Vice Chairman Andy Fergusson, Chief Finance Officer Katy Lewis and Chief Social Work Officer Lillian Cringles.
Questions put to the IJB representatives included a request that briefings to elected members not rely so heavily on professional terminology, as well as one about the value of waiting time targets.
In response to the latter, Mrs White noted that targets such as those for emergency departments serve an important role, and reflect whether the entire system is working properly.
Members of the public also had the chance to put forward questions, with topics including Newton Stewart Cottage Hospital, recruitment of GPs and the delivery of flu vaccinations in GP practices.
The DGHSCP annual review was immediately followed at Creebridge House Hotel by the NHS Dumfries and Galloway Annual Review.
Julie White said: “We’d very much like to thank everyone who attended last Thursday, or who was watching via the Internet as it took place.”
A recording of the event remains accessible on the website www.dghscp.co.uk, while the Annual Performance Report can be found http://www.dg-change.org.uk/annual-performance-report-20172018/
