‘BEST health, best care, best value for our communities' - that is the aim of a new integrated health and social care strategy to be rolled out across the Borders.

Documents released by Scottish Borders Council set out why the integration of health and social care services is necessary and what Borders residents can expect to see as a result.

The bodies which form the Scottish Borders Health and Social Care Partnership have said they are "committed to working better together to deliver more personalised care to achieve ‘best health, best care, best value’ for our communities in the Borders."

Councillor Michelle Ballantyne, previously a nurse with 23 years experience working in the NHS, explained: "Health and social care integration is really about stopping the argument of who's paying for what. And stopping continual debate around having to refill your paper work and be sent to someone else.

"If you are in need, you just want the care you don't care who's giving it to you. And you don't want to answer the same questions over and over."

SBC, NHS Borders and other partners have been involved in a consultation process with service users, carers, members of the public, staff and partners over the past 18 months.

Susan Manion, Chief Officer for Health and Social Care in the Borders, explained: “We have listened to people through our consultations, and we will continue to do so as we work to deliver health and social care services for the people of the Borders."

In broad terms, the aims are:

To improve the quality and consistency of care for patients, carer, service users and their families;

To provide seamless, joined up care that enables people to stay in their homes, or another homely setting, where it is safe for them to do so; and

To ensure that resources are used effectively and efficiently to deliver services that meet the needs of the growing population of people with long term and often complex needs, many of whom are older.

Tweeddale councillor and SBC’s Executive Member for Health Service Catriona Bhatia said: "We must ensure that the Health and Social Care Partnership best meets the needs of people in the Borders.

"Health and social care integration is about enabling services to work together effectively to support people achieve the outcomes that matter to them."