John McVeigh
SVQ Coordinator & Lecturer
City of Glasgow College

SVQ’s 
Flawless or Failing? 

The educational landscape with Social Care in Scotland has always been a polarizing topic. This can be from people absolutely loving their SVQ (Scottish Vocational Qualification) and their learning journey, to people leaving their role within Social Care due to the need to obtain a SSSC registerable Qualification to continue in their job role. Having been an SVQ Assessor and Verifier for a lot of years I am a very enthusiastic advocate for work-based qualifications and SVQ’s! I have seen a lot of stigmas be attached to SVQ’s from people who did not have a good learner journey. We will be wading through the stigma, the moans, the groans and the general complaints around SVQ’s. Then come out the other side with everyone having a much clearer idea around SVQ’s. This will be, how they should work, how they can fit every learner and how they are the best way to learn for our Social Care Workforce. This will also include a discussion around cost and funding for SVQ’s and registerable qualifications with a look at Skills Development Scotland Modern Apprenticeship and Technical Apprenticeship Funding across Scotland.  

Louise Sinclair
Senior Business Development Manager
British Red Cross

Nick Hall
Health and Care Operations Manager for the East of Scotland
British Red Cross

The British Red Cross is working in partnership with Dundee and Fife HSCP to help shift the balance of care and facilitate timely discharges. Supporting people to be discharged home as soon as they are medically fit by providing a personalised assessment and support in their own home.   

The best place to complete the assessment of need for any ongoing service provision is within a person’s own home, following a period of enablement. Home to Assess is a specialist service which provides an alternative to assessment beds or care home placements and follows the home first principles.   

Our session will explore the model, its integration with NHS/HSCP teams, and highlight how working differently to shift the balance of care into the community and home has achieved positive outcomes for not only the people supported but also the wider health and care system.   

In a recent test of change, individuals initially assessed in hospital as likely needing a care home placement achieved the following outcomes after the Home to Assess service:   

• 75% of people were able to remain at home  
• 36% of those who remained at home, required no further package ofcare  
• Only 6% required residential care  

Demonstrating improved quality of life by providing the right care in the right place, enabling individuals to live longer, healthier, and more independent lives at home.   

Additionally, the service reduced pressures on the health and care system by:   

• Improving patient flow  
• Reducing delayed discharges  
• Lowering re-admissions  
• Decreasing reliance on social care  

We aim to provide an engaging session discussing insights and impacts, along with feedback from NHS and HSCP partners and people supported.   

“This has been positive in every way, because not only has it provided better outcomes for people, it’s enabled us to slash our care home budget”-   HSCP Commissioner” 

Nicola Cooper
Technology and Digital Innovation Lead
Scottish Care

Cheryl Stevenson
Care Technologist
Scottish Care

The social care sector faces a crisis of capacity – more demand, fewer staff, rising complexity. In this session, we’ll explore how AI and technology might help, where they genuinely add value, and where hype could lead us astray.

From AI-driven transcription tools like Magic Notes to medication robots, we will look at what’s already in use, drawing on examples from housing and social care, and we will look what’s coming. We will show how these technologies can reduce paperwork, improve communication, and support care workers to focus on what matters most: compassionate human care.

AI isn’t magic. And it’s not plug-and-play: AI tools take time to implement safely and effectively.

We will unpack the ethical questions: How are risks managed? Who benefits? Who might be left behind? Drawing from national work on responsible AI, cybersecurity, and data ethics, Cheryl and Nicola invite you to a grounded, myth-busting session on what technology can and can’t do for social care.

Lynsey Allan
Independent Sector Lead, South Lanarkshire
Scottish Care

Jacqueline Kelland
Medicines Management/Care at Home Pharmacist
NHS Lanarkshire

The Scottish Government commitment to supporting people to stay at home, or in a homely setting with maximum independence, for as long as possible has led to delivery of increasingly complex care and support by care at home providers. Support with medication is key component of care at home support and providers in Lanarkshire have highlighted improvement to current practises in relation to medication as a priority.

This insight session explores the work by Scottish Care Independent Sector Leads alongside NHS Lanarkshire’s Specialist Pharmacist to identify current challenges in relation to medication and care at home delivery locally and develop a collaborative cross-sector approach to addressing these.

Join us to hear more detail on this work to date, as well as the specialised support provided by social care pharmacy in Lanarkshire.