Scottish Care Minister discusses future of social care at Brook Street

We were delighted to welcome Alison Thewliss MSP, Minister for Community Care, to our Brook Street Supported Living service in Alva, Clackmannanshire, on Wednesday 11th November.  The visit provided an opportunity to discuss the future of social care in Scotland, while also showcasing the impact of person-centred support for people with support needs. 

During the visit, Alison met people we support and colleagues at Brook Street, a purpose-built supported living development comprising eight individual apartments designed to help people with support needs live independently while remaining connected to their local community. 

As part of the visit, Alison toured the service, including one of the apartments, and heard directly from colleagues and people we support about the difference that personalised, community-based support can make in people’s lives. 

Alongside the tour, Alison met with senior leaders from Community Integrated Care to discuss some of the biggest opportunities and challenges facing Scotland’s social care sector. 

A key focus was the potential of technology-enabled care to promote greater independence, improve health outcomes and give people more choice and control over their daily lives. Discussions explored how innovative approaches, including personalised prompts, medication support and health monitoring, could help tackle inequalities and improve outcomes across the sector.  

The conversation also explored the importance of improving transitions between children’s and adult social care services, highlighting the need for earlier planning and more joined-up support to help young people move into adulthood with confidence and independence. 

Alongside these opportunities, discussions focused on the barriers that can prevent innovation from being adopted at scale, as well as the long-term sustainability of the sector, including workforce pressures, fair pay and sustainable funding. 

Alison Thewliss MSP, Minister for Community Care, said: “It was great to visit Community Integrated Care’s purpose-built development and meet the staff and people they support at Brook Street. It gave me valuable insight into the frontline challenges they are facing and the fantastic and dedicated work they do to support individuals across the country.  

“The specialist accommodation available to people at Brook Street, and across other areas of Scotland, is vital to achieving our mission to strengthen and reform community care services to support people with complex needs to live more independently with the right support.  

“I would like to thank the staff at Community Integrated Care for the outstanding work they do across Scotland.” 

Sara Murphy, Managing Director at Community Integrated Care, said: “It was a pleasure to welcome Alison to Brook Street and have the opportunity to discuss both the incredible potential and the very real challenges facing social care in Scotland.” 

“There is huge potential to use innovation and technology to support greater independence and improve outcomes for people who draw on care and support. However, alongside innovation, we need sustainable funding, fair pay for our workforce and long-term thinking about how social care is delivered if we are to meet future demand and continue helping people live their best lives possible.” 

The visit forms part of Community Integrated Care’s ongoing engagement with policymakers and decision-makers, championing the voices of people who draw on social care and the colleagues who support them. 

Through our Best Lives, Bolder strategy, we remain committed to influencing positive change, driving innovation and ensuring that people with learning disabilities, autistic people and others who draw on social care have the opportunities, support and recognition they deserve to live their best lives possible.