Health, education and social care services to be integrated

NHS Highland chief executive Roger Gibbins, Highland Council leader Michael Foxley and NHS Highland chairman Garry Coutts - key figures in the plans to merge services.

PLANS to integrate health, education and social care services in the Highlands have been agreed.

NHS Highland will provide services for adult community care, while Highland Council will provide services for children.

The transfer of services to the correct agency should happen by next April.

The move is intended to reduce bureaucracy, ensure front-line services are efficient and cost-effective and make greater sense to the public.

"This is an opportunity for us to make a real difference by improving services for people living in the Highlands," explained Dr Margaret Somerville, NHS Highland's director of public health.

"By developing integrated services there is potential to generate significant benefits for people using the services, as well as their carers and families. Such benefits include clearer, faster access to services, streamlined services which are easier to understand, and improved communication between the various staff involved with a person's care, all of which should work together to ensure improved health and a better experience of care for people living in the Highlands."