Following Scottish Executive decisions to improve the nation’s health, major changes are under way on health service structures and delivery.

At a busy and eventful day in Hampden Stadium on September 12, the new South East Glasgow Community Health and Care Partnership (CHCP) launched itself and its Public Partnership Forum.

Chairman, Bailie Alan Stewart,set the scene for the audience of interested care professionals and volunteers, ‘This CHCP is one of five covering the whole of Glasgow. The South East Area CHCP will stretch from Gorbals to Pollokshields, from Crosshill to Langside, from King’s Park to Castlemilk and Carmunnock. It will deliver to 100,000 people and will improve the delivery of services to everyone.’

He promised the South East Area CHCP would listen, learn, share and address the needs of people in the area from dietary and obesity to dental, from mental health to suicide prevention, from child and elder health to worklessness and from sexually transmitted diseases to addictions including smoking and alcohol. ‘This is a long term commitment for the partners and the community to work together,’ he said. The partners are Glasgow City Council, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Community representatives. There will be two people on the South East Area CHCP board to speak for the community one chosen from voluntary organisations and one from community groups.

Hamish Battye, Head of Planning and Health Improvement for the new body described how a Public Partnership Forum would be formed to give everyone involved – users, carers, general public, community groups and voluntary organisations – a chance to have their say about the development of local services and to provide feedback on local issues.

Director of the South East Glasgow CHCP, Cathie Cowan, announced the timetable to implement Public Partnership Forums which would link with Community Planning Partnerships. She said the three week nomination period, starting that day, would be followed with a meeting at the end of October or the beginning of November and an induction process. By December she anticipated roles would have been agreed and work could start.
Before and after the formal presentation, many organisations and service users’ groups set out their stalls to tell each other and the few members of the public who ventured into the event, what they did.