Influencing Change

We are using our experience and expertise to influence good change for people accessing social care.

The National Care Service.

If passed, the National Care Service will mark a significant shift in the way people are supported across Scotland.

The Scottish Government believes that social care should be more person-centred, accessible, and fairer for people who require it and for the workers who deliver it. Carr Gomm agrees with this.

In fact, we believe Carr Gomm is already achieving this. But social care needs better resources so that everyone who needs it can experience person-centred support, which enables them to live their best possible life.

Carr Gomm wants the National Care Service to:

Recognise the positive impact of our excellent person-centred supports.
Support equal recognition and reward for all workers.
Explore better commissioning approaches and ensure self-directed support works for everyone.

Deputy Chief Executive, Andrew Thomson’s summarised how the National Care Service came about and why it is important in his blog.

Read Andrew’s blog on the National Care Service on our website.

Here’s what we are doing to ensure that the voices of Carr Gomm and the people we support are heard where the decisions are being made.

The Involvement Group, a group made up of people Carr Gomm supports, contributed their views to the National Care Service consultation. They have also been taking part in the regional co-design sessions as well as organising meetings with civil servants and MSPs.
Carr Gomm invited MSPs to our services to talk about our person-centred support in the area they represent. It was an opportunity for them to hear about the excellent support we provide and to hear from people we support about what living their best possible life means for them. It was also an opportunity for us to discuss issues around pay, commissioning, hospital discharges and the value of social care in Scotland.
We are getting involved in the Coalition of Care Providers Scotland (CCPS) #4StepstoFairWorkCampaign, recognising that many of the ambitions of the National Care Service should be brought forward earlier.

Read Deputy Chief Executive, Andrew’s blog on the #4StepstoFairWork

Over the summer of 2023, we invited several MSPs to our services so they could speak to staff about Carr Gomm’s dreams for social care and how that could be realised in a National Care Service.

The Independent Review of Adult Social Care.

Otherwise known as the Feeley Review, the Independent Review of Adult Social Care was commissioned by the Scottish Government to recommend improvements to adult social care in Scotland – for the outcomes achieved by and with people who use services, their carers and families, and the experience of people who work in adult social care.

Read Carr Gomm’s contribution to The Independent Review of Adult Social Care.

Telling our stories

There’s nothing more powerful than a story. The people we support each have their own to share about what our values and approaches mean in their day to day lives.

Realising the ambition of Self-Directed Support (SDS)

Self-Directed support was brought in to give more control back to people over how they want their support to be delivered. While the intentions of this initiative were good, the benefits have not been realised for many people across Scotland.

In the Highlands, where choice of support providers can be limited, our Community Contacts Team have been working hard with the SDS Peer Support Group, NHS Highland, and other organisations to improve access to SDS.

Through this partnership working, from 2nd October 2023, every adult in the Highlands accessing their support via Option 1 (direct payments), will see an uplift in their hourly rate. More people now have the means to access support, choosing when and how it’s delivered.

Find out more about Community Contacts.

Influencing change in Self-Directed Support

10 years after SDS was brought in, Carr Gomm and the people we support were invited to share our experience of how the legislation has made a difference in how people across Scotland access social care. Carr Gomm, our National Involvement Group and our Community Contacts Project all responded to the Scottish Government’s Self-Directed Support Post Legislative Scrutiny.

Read our responses on our summary blog

Becs Barker, Carr Gomm’s Operations Manager for Community Contacts, Involvement, Quality and Innovation, gave evidence to the Scottish Parliament on behalf of social care providers on whether Self-Directed Support (SDS) has achieved its ambitions in Scotland. Watch Becs share about the realities of accessing choice and control for people we support.

Read the full summary of the Self-Directed Support Post Legislative Scrutiny evidence session (PDF: 641KB)