Social Work Policy Panel newsletter December 2024
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Notes from December’s meeting: Getting it right for everyone (GIRFE): The Team Around the Person Toolkit
Grant Laidlaw from the Scottish Government’s GIRFE team delivered a presentation followed by a discussion chaired by Frank Reilly from the policy panel partnership
What is GIRFE?
Getting it right for everyone (GIRFE) offers health and social work professionals practical tools to coordinate support and services with people from young adulthood to end of life care. It aims to provide a national practice framework to embed inter-agency and multi-disciplinary working
GIRFE builds on existing adult best practice and learning from Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) and is part of the Government programme to improve population health and wellbeing, reduce health inequalities and create sustainable health and care services.
GIRFE places the person at the centre of all the decision making that affects them, ensuring that all agencies take a consistent approach, regardless of the support needed at any stage of life.
The GIRFE framework will be key to the future practice model of all health, social care and public sector professionals.
Ambition for multi-disciplinary working
GIRFE has been designed to promote a more personalised way to access help and support when it is needed. That help is often provided across professional specialisms. The GIRFE framework reinforces existing best practice rather than creating a new structure. It is intended to make accessing the right service at the right time clearer and easier for people and to make collaboration between agencies more effective.
Self-directed Support
GIRFE promotes early support to prevent escalating crises which can result in repeat referrals to social work and both primary and emergency care services in health. The associated tools have been designed to support good conversations and collaboration between people receiving and providing support, learning from best practice in self-directed support (SDS). It is intended to support SDS and other mechanisms for delivering effective health and social care.
Example from Justice
At this Policy Panel session, Grant talked about the development of the Team Around the Person Toolkit which supports the work of pathfinder GIRFE projects in Scotland. It will soon be available more widely to support GIRFE nationwide.
As a working example in Justice services, Grant described the ‘support bag’ which was? created to help people access tailored support when they are released from prison to help them integrate back into the community with dignity and respect.
Next Steps
The GIRFE Team will be holding drop-in sessions during January to help people working in Health and Social Care learn more about GIRFE and consider how it will be applied, and their roles in that application. One to one support for teams implementing GIRFE will also be available during January.
Please contact the GIRFE Policy Team via email at GIRFE@gov.scot for a copy of the Team Around the Person Toolkit or to arrange to attend a GIRFE information drop-in session.
Discussion Points
GIRFE does not replace existing practices. It supports the principles of Self-directed-support (SDS) and other mechanisms for delivering social care. It promotes shared responsibility and understanding within multi-disciplinary contexts.
The toolkit is welcome if it can support person centred working that draws on the skills and resources of social work and health staff to help people live the lives they aspire to.
In terms of Justice, the toolkit appears compatible with the SHORE standards (Sustainable Housing on Release for Everyone) trying to address the cycle of homelessness and recidivism for people with convictions upon their release from prison.
The policy panel partnership has invited Grant and the team to return in 2025 to give an update on progress.
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