The integration of Health and Social Care services in Perth and Kinross reached a milestone when the final meeting of the Integration Pathfinder Board was held, to be replaced by the new local Integration Joint Board.

For the past 18 months preparation for integrating services has been steered by a Pathfinder Board made up of elected members from Perth & Kinross Council, the chief executive of PKAVS and Board members of NHS Tayside. The Pathfinder Board was chaired by Councillor Dave Doogan and vice-chaired by Linda Dunion of NHS Tayside.

In September 2015 Robert Packham took up the new post of Chief Officer for the Perth and Kinross Integration Joint Board for health and social care, the body which will now take forward integration work.

Mr Packham was formerly Director of Allied Health Professionals with NHS Tayside. He has worked in other partnership roles with NHS Lothian and Midlothian Council, and also with NHS Fife, Newcastle Health Authority and South West Durham Health Authority.

Over the coming months the Chief Officer and the Integration Joint Board will oversee the arrangements for the integration of adult health and social care services provided by NHS Tayside and Perth & Kinross Council, including those delivered in partnership with local third sector organisations.

The Integration Joint Board will be made up of local elected members, non executive members of NHS Tayside Board, Third Sector representatives and officials from NHS Tayside and Perth & Kinross Council. Unpaid carers and people who use the services that are being integrated will also have an important role to play in the work of the Board.

The integration of adult health and social care is part of the Scottish Government’s programme of reform to improve outcomes for adults who use health and social care services. The aim is to make sure that services are tailored to meet the particular needs of individual local communities.

This means that GPs, hospitals, health workers, social care staff and the voluntary and independent sectors will increasingly work side-by-side in local teams to provide more co-ordinated services, tailored to meet the needs of individuals and their families.

Mr Packham said: “This is a milestone for health and social care integration in Perth and Kinross. The Pathfinder Board has done a huge amount of preparation work to get us to this point.

“The Integration Joint Board will now take forward that work. Our job will be to improve outcomes for everyone who uses health and care services. We will support our teams here in Perth and Kinross to provide safe, effective and responsive care.

“We will work to better anticipate and prevent the challenges that ageing can bring and to help people avoid the known causes of ill health. I look forward to getting on with our work to make a positive difference to people’s lives.”

Linda Dunion added: “Integration is all about working in different, more joined-up ways to give people the best possible chance to live at home, with the right support to keep them safe, well and enjoying life for as long as they can. The shift to integration is already well underway and beginning to deliver real benefits to older people right across Perth and Kinross.”

Councillor Dave Doogan, convener of the housing & health committee of Perth & Kinross Council, said: “I am looking forward to working with Robert and the Integration Join Board. His extensive professional experience will prove invaluable as we move forward. Working with NHS Tayside and our partners in the third sector we have made considerable progress towards preparing our organisations and services for integration.”

@PerthandKinross