13:30 - 14:45

As we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and face reduced resources this session will highlight two innovative approaches to service delivery that put patients and families at the centre and demonstrate improved outcomes.  Demonstrating how maximising the use of limited resources and collaborating across services can achieve more sustainable and resilient health care systems. 

The first presentation will explore taking a whole systems approach and moving resources upstream, prioritising early intervention, prevention and self-management and promoting the least intrusive interventions, linked to better wellbeing outcomes. The Speech and Language Therapy team in NHS Forth Valley will share their journey to build environments of protective, tolerant and enhancing relationships around children and young people and address the wellbeing of parents and carers. Despite the national increase in demand for SLT services, this service delivery model appears to be effective in meeting this increased demand. 

The second presentation will explore Telepractice, the delivery of services using telecommunications and online internet technology to remotely connect clinicians to service users for assessments and intervention. Telepractice was embraced by many during the Covid-19 pandemic as it highlighted the need for innovative delivery models to support communities across Scotland access essential health and social care services. Now, against the backdrop of limited resources and the need to work across Health Board boundaries to provide access to specialist clinical support, telepractice has the potential to deliver excellent outcomes through collaboration and innovative working as our health services recover and reform. Drawing on the experience of Auditory and Verbal therapists and highly specialist Speech and Language Therapists, this session will explore how telepractice enables families of deaf children to receive support from specialist practitioners, through maximising technology and resources available in the family home.

This session will enable you to challenge some of our thinking about what makes for a good service, rethink our service delivery transformationally and relationally and understand how, by placing families and patients at the centre of the health system, and maximising limited resources, we can achieve sustainable and lifelong positive outcomes for children.