07 - 2025-09-17 IJB - Chief Officer Report September 2025
North Lanarkshire Council · 17 September 2025
Back to Health and Social Care Integration Joint Board — 17 September 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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1 REPORT Item No: 7 SUBJECT: Chief Officer Report TO: Integration Joint Board Lead Officer for Report: Claire Rae, Chief Officer Author(s) of Report Kerry Taylor, Business Support Manager DATE: 17 September 2025 1. PURPOSE OF REPORT This paper is coming to the IJB for: For Approval: ☐ For Endorsement: ☐ To Note: ☒ 2. ROUTE TO THE BOARD This paper has been: Prepared By: Kerry Taylor, Business Support Manager ☒ Reviewed By: HSCP SMT 1 September 2025 ☒ Endorsed By: ☐
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2 3. RECOMMENDATIONS 3.1 It is recommended that the IJB Note and comment on the key areas of work and service developments that have been taking place within North Lanarkshire in relation to the work of the Integration Joint Board 4. CHIEF OFFICER REPORT 4.1 Care Reform Act The Scottish Government approved the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill on 10 June 2025 and received Royal Assent on 22 July 2025. Although more limited in scope than the original proposals for a National Care Service, the Bill introduces several key measures including: Enshrining Anne’s Law in legislation, securing the rights of adult care home residents to maintain contact with loved ones and designate an essential care supporter Strengthening support for unpaid carers by establishing a legal right to respite breaks. This follows the allocation of an additional £13 million to support up to 40,000 carers in accessing voluntary sector short breaks Enhancing access to care information and improves the flow of data across care settings, empowering individuals to make informed decisions Expanding access to independent advocacy to ensure people are heard and actively involved in decisions about their care. Establishing a National Chief Social Work Adviser to provide professional leadership and advocate for the social care sector, as part of wider plans for a new national framework Further information can be found here 4.2 Standards Commission for Scotland Following a period of consultation, the Commission has revised its Advice Note for Members of Health and Social Care Integration Joint Boards. The updated guidance outlines the responsibilities of IJB members under the ethical standards framework and aims to support them in identifying and managing potential conflicts of interest, thereby safeguarding effective governance and scrutiny processes. The Advice Note is available here
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3 4.3 Delayed Discharge In Figure 5.1 the national target performance in June (validated data) shows that North Lanarkshire HSCP has met the national target and is lower than the Scottish average (lower is better). Fortnightly Collaborative, Response and Assurance Group chaired by the Cabinet Secretary continues with a focus on Delayed Discharge performance, with the format of this meeting currently under review. 4.4 Freedom of Information Requests The Board is required to submit quarterly statistics on requests for information to the Office of the Scottish Information Commissioner (OSIC). Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament which gives everyone the right to ask for any information held by a Scottish public authority. During quarter 1 of 2025/2026, there were 3 information requests received. 4.5 National Records Scotland Data National Records of Scotland (NRS) publish national and local data each year for Probable Suicides and Alcohol Related Deaths. Due to the publication dates scheduled for September this year, these reports will be reported to the Integration Joint Board in December 2025.
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4 Drug Related Deaths Due to the date of publication of the following data, a more in-depth report will be presented to the IJB in December 2025. The national statistics on Drug Related Deaths are produced annually by the National Records Service (NRS) and the 2024 data was released on 2 September 2025. Across Scotland in 2025 there were 1,017 deaths due to the direct impact of drug misuse. This is a decrease of 155 deaths (13%) from 2023, and the lowest number of drug misuse deaths registered in any year since 2017. The rate of drug misuse deaths is still much higher than at the beginning of the series in 1996. The figure for 2024 in North Lanarkshire was 85, a decrease from the previous year where, 103 people died. Each and every death is one too many and we continue to work together alongside communities to improve our services and tackle the wider inequalities that lead to drug deaths. 4.6 Scotland’s Data Strategy for Health and Social Care – 2025 Update The Scottish Government and COSLA has released a progress update in the second year of Scotland’s first Data Strategy for Health and Social Care, Health and social care: data strategy - gov.scot published in February 2023. The strategy sets out the vision and ambitions for improving the use of health and social care data to deliver the best care possible for the people of Scotland. The strategy has three main ambitions: Empowering Individuals: Enable people in Scotland to access, manage, and contribute to their own health and social care data safely and appropriately Supporting Service Providers: Equip health and social care professionals with the tools and confidence to collect, use, and share data securely to improve services and outcomes Advancing Research and Innovation: Ensure secure access to high- quality data for planning, research, and innovation to enhance individual wellbeing and public health through improved care and new technologies The 2025 update sets out the progress made in 2024 and some priorities for 2025 and is based on regular discussions with delivery partners and stakeholders,
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5 reiterating the agreed approach in achieving the safe, secure and consistent use of data across Scotland’s health and care systems. Key successes include: Governance Structures Established: Formation of the Health and Social Care Data Board, along with two sub-boards—Data Delivery and Data Standards—to oversee implementation and ensure consistent data practices across the sector Improved Data Access and Use: Progress in enabling individuals to access and contribute to their own health and care data, and in supporting professionals to use data confidently and securely to improve services. Standardisation and Interoperability: Development of preferred data standards to promote consistency and interoperability across health and social care systems, facilitating better data sharing and integration. Further information on progress and future plans on the eight priority areas of the strategy can be found here 4.7 Jane Davies Award 2025 Motherwell District Nursing Team were awarded runners up for Person Centred Care. The Healthcare Improvement Scotland article states; “Motherwell Health Centre District Nursing team were recognised for their outstanding person- centred approach to an individual’s end-of-life care. Their support honoured the full identity of the individual, not just as a patient, but as, for example, a father, grandfather, footballer, gardener, and music lover. A family member described the experience as one of “care, compassion and laughter in our darkest days,” crediting the team with helping preserve joy, dignity and connection at the end of life.” 4.8 Review of Vaccination Service Delivery A review of Vaccination Service Delivery within Lanarkshire is underway. Updates will be provided to the Integration Joint Board at future meetings. 4.9 NHS Lanarkshire Recruitment
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6 Two NHS Lanarkshire Director positions have recently been advertised for recruitment as two members of staff move to other NHS Boards. An update will be provided after the positions of Acute Service Director and Executive Director of Finance have been appointed. 4.10 Meeting, Event and Media Updates The Chief Officer Group met with the Minister for Social Care and Mental Wellbeing in July 25. The discussion focused on reinforcing the financial challenge that IJB’s face alongside the demand faced NHS Lanarkshire’s Health Improvement Team in Wishaw organised a family-fun day ‘Tea in the Garden’ event at University Hospital Wishaw in July 2025 to raise awareness of services available to the local community A Winter Planning Event was held in August 2025 with South Lanarkshire HSCP, North Lanarkshire HSCP and NHS Lanarkshire to discuss the learnings from the previous winter period, with actions to follow A joint Community Planning Partnership event in scheduled for October 2025 with NHS Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire Council and North Lanarkshire Council to focus on Population Health Framework A media article relating to Hospital Based Complex Clinical Care (HBCCC) was published in July 2025. This related to a national focus on Dementia services, however NHS Lanarkshire was mentioned due to recent changes to delivery of HBCCC within NHS Lanarkshire. CHIEF ACCOUNTABLE OFFICER (or Depute) Members seeking further information about any aspect of this report, please contact Kerry Taylor kerry.taylor@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk