Whilst NHS Grampian has many responsibilities that are solely ours, there are also many areas that we share joint responsibility in and many more that we want to work with our partners to support.
There are three Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) in Grampian – Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, and Moray. These HSCPs have a combination of NHS and council staff employed, working to support their local areas with health and social care. All HSCPs must have a Strategic Plan and we have worked closely with our HSCP colleagues to ensure that this Plan for the Future and their local plans are consistent and aligned. We also work very closely with the three Local Authorities and three Community Planning Partnerships in the implementation of Local Outcome Improvement Plans (LOIPs) to ensure that health and wellbeing is everyone’s business and to support areas that we know impact on our health and wellbeing, such as employment and housing.
There are many other partners that we work with. These include third sector organisations (voluntary and charitable bodies) who often deliver complementary services, as well as some commissioned services in place of NHS and Local Authorities and provide additional support for people and their families through many ways. We also work closely with education providers in Grampian to ensure that courses and qualifications are available for the workforce we need in the future, but also to support the learning and development of our current staff. There are many opportunities to work with an even greater variety of partners and we aim to be inclusive in our approach, building relationships with private organisations as well when it is relevant to do so.
The most important partner for us to work with though is you, the people of Grampian. You are the most expert in your own lives, knowing best what works and does not work for you. We can share our professional expertise, which allows for a conversation and a shared decision on the way forward.