Care as A Golden Thread; Creating and Implementing A New National Outcome on Care in Scotland

Introduction: Governments create National Performance Framworks (NPF) to highlight the 'golden threads' they want all stakeholders to most focus on. Two years ago we presented at ICIC 2022 on the design and development of a new National Outcome for Care in Scotlands NPF, and the 11 existing outcomes in that which did not include Care explicitly, which was up for review. T We can now report that the campaign was a huge success, and the Scottish Government is now creating a National Outcome on Care. This presentation will explain how the campaign worked to achieve this, what we believe to be a global first. Who is it for? This presentation is for people concerned with high level leadership and change at the heart of Government to systemically value care more visibly and in an integrated way across types of care and the lifespan. It can be an inspiration for systemic change. Who did you involve and engage with? The initiative and the campaign for a Care outcome in the NPF included representatives from paid and unpaid care bodies across the lifespan, from childcare to elderly care. The campaign had a steering group that included and amplified voices of those cared for and their paid or unpaid carers in interventions through various media with the public, care bodies and networks, politicians and policy influencers. What did you do? We campaigned for a new National Outcome on Care in the Scottish Government NPF review over 2023. We did this through materials and events that elicitied and captured carer and cared for voices.These were amplified in media, social media, parliamentary events, at Party conferences, through formal consultations on the NPF, and informal lobbying, and with press updates, briefings and infographics. More than 60 Care organisations and hundreds of people with care needs and their carers were involved. What results did you get? The Scottish Government accepted and endorse Care as a new and 12th National Outcome in the future NPF. This makes Care a golden thread at the heart of government. What impact did you have? To make Care visible at the heart of government, not set aside in a silo of one or several government departments. This is systemic integration of care agents, receiving and providing, and care across the lifespan, beyond institutional integration between health and social care systems. What is the learning for the international audience? Forming a coalition around Care as an explicit and distinct area in NPF, or NPF like, frameworks can be an energising focus for positive change in making care more visible at the heart of government. This creates an environment in which Care will and must be appreciated and integrated with a countries overall and total delivery of what matters to most people. What are the next steps? First is to shape and decide the measures and indicators that will actually be tracked as part of the National Outcome. Second is to encourage and explore similar campaigns in other countries, and he UN SDGs.