RESIDENTS from the Wee County are being urged to give their views on a strategic plan setting out priorities in health and social care.

Clackmannanshire and Stirling Health and Social Care Partnership (HSPC) is consulting on its draft Strategic Commissioning Plan for 2023-33.

The 10-year plan sets out ambitions and intentions to design and deliver services focused on the rights and needs of people.

There are five strategic themes to set out priorities, starting with prevention, early intervention and harm reduction.

This will see the HSCP, which brings together Clacks and Stirling councils with NHS Forth Valley, work with partners to improve overall health and wellbeing and preventing ill health.

Another theme is centred around independent living through choice and control, the partnership looking to support “people and carers to actively participate in making informed decisions about how they will live their lives and meet their agreed outcomes”.

The document explained that independence can boost self-esteem and confidence, improving people's sense of purpose and ultimately, their quality of life.

Shifting the delivery of care from institutional, hospital-led services towards ones that support people in the community is another theme.

The partnership will also look to work with communities to support and empower people to live healthy, meaningful and satisfying lives while working to reduce loneliness and isolation.

“Our society is changing, accelerated by the pandemic and there is increasing risk of social isolation and loneliness, both of which can impact a person’s physical and mental wellbeing,” the draft plan explained.

The draft plan also seeks to embed human rights, equalities and even ecology.

On the latter, the plan read: “Through the Locality Planning Networks, and feedback from individuals and partners across Clackmannanshire and Stirling, it has been clearly recognised that the importance of the natural world affects communities and individual’s health and well-being.

“Outdoors is more than just restorative, it is an object of care for communities particularly based in rural areas and the natural environment that surrounds us.

“We also recognise the built environment has a place of importance in shaping people’s health and wellbeing, it has close relationships to people’s capacity to care and their own care needs.

“Individuals have voiced concerns for the natural environment within community and engagement meetings with the HSCP.

“But, like rights and equality, it is a question of ensuring that we adapt our framing and integrating ecological concerns into our practice and within our reach.”

There is more, with the draft plan spanning some 50 pages.

Consultation on the draft strategic plan runs until March 12.

Visit bit.ly/3EAwVVV to give views and to read the full document.