Co-production in Scotland

By Ashleigh de Verteuil; People Powered Health and Wellbeing. 

This blog first appeared on this website 

Co-production is increasingly being recognised as an essential approach to Health and Social Care. Scotland’s drive towards person centred care has seen various policy drivers reference co-production as a priority in shaping the future of Health and Social Care services.

In the Chief Medical Officer’s annual report, ‘Realistic Medicines’, Dr Catherine Calderwood outlined the importance of co-production going forward in Scotland’s Health and Social Care agenda:

‘The future model of care is one with an empowered patient in a shared decision-making partnership with the clinician. There needs to be co-creation of care packages that include prevention and rapid access to services when required.’

Studies have shown that Doctors often recommend treatments and interventions that they would reject themselves. This shows a lack of shared decision-making, basing treatment on assumptions and unclarified expectations.

For example, a study found doctors believe that 71% of patients they’re treating with breast cancer would see keeping their breast as a top priority. In reality, this was only 7% of breast cancer patients’ top priority.

In the landscape of integration, for us this means empowering Health and Social Care Partnerships to be able to co-produce in order to support better outcomes for health, wellbeing, and integration. We want people to be able to influence their own health and wellbeing, and contribute to the design, delivery, and improvement of support services. When people are given the opportunity to co-produce their care, they are more likely to follow treatment plans, are less likely to suffer from unnecessary medical interventions, and be more satisfied with their outcomes. Nesta has recognised the potential of the Third Sector in helping integrate co-production initiatives, naming PPHW as a programme that can help achieve policy targets.

The importance of co-production, person centred care and asset based approaches can also be found throughout the recent National Clinical Strategy for Scotland, which identifies ‘a need to increase co-production with patients and carers’ as a current challenge. Self management education, Peer Support, Health Coaching, Group based activities, Asset Based approaches are also features outlined by Nesta, in partnership with the Health Foundation.

The argument for change is clear, but how do Health and Social Care professionals put this into practice? We hope to be able to facilitate that change, using the voice of lived experience so that going forward, PPHW will ensure that Scotland is, and continues to be, at the forefront of co-production.

Click to read the Realistic Medicines Report and the National Clinical Strategy as well as Nesta’s reports.