Highland communities mobilise to meet social care needs

This comes in response to predicted fundamental changes in care provision by statutory bodies.

The movement, which started at a community care conference in Inverness last November, is being coordinated by representatives of eleven Highland community groups, including Skye and Lochalsh Council for Voluntary Organisations, Voluntary Action Lochaber, Urram (Strontian and Ardnamurchan Peninsula) and 3 Glens (Fort Augustus, Glenmoriston and Glengarry).

All of the groups taking part recognise that action is needed now to enable people to keep living full and fair lives in their communities in the face of plummeting investment in frontline services.

A steering group of eleven representatives, from the community-based organisations, has met regularly to discuss the challenges, realising how much they have in common.

All are agreed that working together will strengthen their ability to see change coming and to insist on an equal partnership with statutory bodies to co-design new service delivery models for adult social care that are based on the unique geographical, demographic and cultural needs of each community.

"Communities have been told that there will be fundamental changes to the way care services are delivered in future," said a group spokesperson.

"Yet there is no mechanism to help us to respond to these challenges to preserve our way of life in the Highlands.

"Many communities do not have the resources to even meet with statutory bodies and so will still be unaware of the changes to come.

"We want to create a network that will strengthen our collective voice and seek respectful and realistic changes."