The last two weeks’ sessions of the Scottish Parliament’s Health and Sport committee has seen incisive evidence from several third sector representatives. The ambition of the Bill to bring about change in the way we support individuals, families and communities’ wellbeing has been questioned, with many seeing ‘public bodies joint working’ as being the wrong focus.
The real challenge is not to co-ordinate a game of institutional musical chairs, or argue about who delivers what traditional services – it is to fundamentally shift the way we approach the business of staying well.
With a population ageing faster than the rest of the UK, many parts of Europe and beyond, Scotland needs to have bigger ambition than the Bill in its current form represents. We need a concerted effort across all sectors and in partnership with communities to do things differently. For this we need inspiration – much of which can be found within our own sector at home, but can also be found elsewhere in the world.
And the good news is we don’t have to go exploring to find it – because the world is coming to us.
The City Health conference on 4-5 November in Glasgow has input from across the globe to help us think about new ways to live well in our rapidly urbanising society. From support for people with disabilities in Bangalore to inclusion activities in Sydney and all the way back to ground breaking work on domestic violence in Glasgow, this is a very timely opportunity to reflect on the best world-wide practice and consider how we should be taking some of this forward. It just might help our sector, government and parliament to redirect effort to the real challenges facing communities and create a horizon beyond institutional vested interest.
I look forward to seeing you there!
Last modified on 23 January 2020
