I have been in this role for over 3 years now and had taken up the post hoping to help make a difference. If you would have asked me last year if I had achieved this I would have probably said No! However, ask me now and I know that I have made a difference to some services. I have worked with providers in developing their services, provided them with tools and the experience for them to take forward and this has shown in past and now current Care Inspectorate grades. I must say that it was not all my own work by any means, but it gives me a sense of satisfaction knowing that I had an input.
I am excited to be working with the My Home Life Team in Borders on a new cohort starting early next year. We already have a cohort running currently which has had some excellent feedback from care home managers. The new cohort will include working with NES and enhancing care homes as a placement location for students. In addition we will be including a Community Development Strand and the focus will be on Personal Outcomes, with a particular focus in this cohort on working with care homes as learning organisations thus strengthening services in the Borders. This is all currently in draft format but Watch this Space !
Falkirk sees a Creative Facilitation process coming through currently in conjunction with the My Day My Way SDS project which looks at SDS for Older People (including people with Dementia). The project is all about how we move forward with a new Model of Care and day supports using a creative approach for developing how we want services to look like in future. This could be very exciting and includes a wide range of partners from the Local Authority, the NHS, the Independent Sector, Third and Voluntary Sectors, service users and their carers, etc.
Exciting times for all going forward and I am so enthused to see so many examples of good practice and innovation around the country.
Margaret McGowan
Local Integration Lead for Borders / Falkirk
