Scotland's population is ageing, with 25% of all Scots now sixty or older, and that trend is only set to continue. However, care services for our older people face acute resource constraints at the same time as demand is rising sharply. Is it still possible to have quality, quantity and stability in our care services?

This conference will take place online. 

The Scottish National Care Service was supposed to 'go live' in 2025-26.  However, serious concerns on governance, staffing and funding led to a rethink, renegotiation and reshaping of the proposal.  It now faces a new target date of 2028-29.  No staff transfers are now proposed, and a new National Care Service Board is to oversee reformed local integration authorities and the co-design of all aspects of structure and services delivery.  So, what is the proposal as it now stands and what will it mean for care providers and consumers?

The conference takes place online.

This conference – the 10th annual care of older people in Scotland conference – focuses on the core challenges facing us now in care delivery for older people.  We want everyone to have the best health and care possible in older age.  However, we are getting older and living longer in larger numbers – so the costs of care are rising remorselessly.  At the same time the economic outlook is weak and public finances are under severe pressure. In this context how do we fund care excellence?  How do we best structure services and scrutiny?  What are the core elements of best practice that we should be trying to achieve in contemporary care of older people?

This conference will take place online.

Scotland's public services provide critical support to every age group, community and area of activity. They are essential to wellbeing, the economy, public safety and quality of life. However a tsunami of challenges to our services already exist, with many more on the horizon. The labour market is constricted, creating acute staffing shortages. COVID has left services struggling to catch up and keep up with demand. War has driven economic instability and UK government fiscal uncertainty suggests serious funding issues for public services. The context seems to be that change is now permanent. So what can those leading and delivering our critical public services do to cope with the challenges of now and prepare for those which are coming? How can they harness smart service design approaches and core elements of delivery to provide services which remain resilient, reliable and relevant? What opportunities exist to work differently and better in trying to do more with less?

The conference will take place online.

Debt in Scotland has become a new epidemic. It has claimed more and more individuals and households as the cost of living has risen dramatically and the value of incomes has declined in parallel.  However, for many, options to tighten budgets in order to meet rising costs were already exercised long ago.  There is nowhere left to go.  What advice, support and assistance can be given to the rising number of people falling into debt that they cannot manage?  Can their debt be reduced and stability restored to their living costs?  Can our statutory debt management, debt relief and debt advice resources meet the volume of demand and the scale of need within that demand?

This conference will take place online.

The Scottish Government’s National Care Service (Scotland) Bill has been published and is now in its parliamentary stages toward becoming law.  However, the scope of the Bill has seen the original proposals grow to now cover adult, child, justice, substance misuse and some mental health services and also proposes a system which would be accountable to Ministers.  So what do you or your organisation need to understand about what was in the published Bill, the responses to it and its parliamentary progress?  How is Scottish Government thinking on the Bill evolving during its parliamentary stages and to what extent is it responding to concerns?

The conference takes place online.

How we care for our older people is one of the most basic indicators of whether a society and its services are functioning well. However in less than twenty years 25% of Scotland's population will be 65 or older and those over 70 will be living with an average of three chronic conditions. So, are we caring for our older people well now? Are we prepared for the increased demand ahead? What can we learn from current trends and good practice and what needs to happen next in spending and service evolution to prepare for both the challenges we face now and those that are imminent?

This conference will take place online. 

All of society has been impacted by coronavirus but those most affected are vulnerable older people and particularly those requiring care, either at home or in a care home setting. Providing protection and prevention has been a complex, delicate and extended task, but it is only one side of the equation. What have we learned during the coronavirus response so far about best practice in care? What are the challenges in delivering quality of life - as well as sustaining life - for older people during coronavirus and in the ‘new normal’?

Online