DLS visit new ADPs for first time

Some members of the DLS Delivery Group were able to visit the newly funded ADPs for the first time in July. Moray, Aberdeenshire and Dundee were all very welcoming and the teams left enthused and excited to start working together.

• All three ADPs gave the DLS team a warm welcome and demonstrated a strong commitment to placing supported individuals at the centre of their services.

• Moray has Elgin as a centre; the majority of the population live there and north to the coast. That might suggest it is easier to deliver a coherent and integrated service. Moray ADP does do this, but they also acknowledge a lot of people cannot travel easily to Elgin, significant support is delivered in person by staff travelling to the service user. 

• Digital access, skills and support can help Moray overcome some of these access and availability barriers. Work will be undertaken to identify how initiatives from the DHI’s Rural Centre of Excellence may also inform DLS delivery.

• Aberdeenshire presents a different rural challenge. It covers a very large area with multiple towns, including ‘step-in’ locations in Banff, Fraserburgh, Peterhead, Inverurie and Stonehaven, but no clear central hub. The visit demonstrated the significant distances involved in delivering consistent services across the region. It was evident the ADP team does not lack for energy and eagerness to make the most of the DLS partnerships.

• Dundee offers an urban setting for DLS. The team found that service users’ experiences and needs were similar to those in other areas. Conversations with the ADP team and two local services identified significant interest in DLS and generated considerable fervour for the collaboration to commence.

  
  

The next stage is a series of collaborative co-design workshops in August. These will examine current services, identify pain points and explore how digital approaches could improve outcomes for service users, staff and services. 

Although the three areas have very different geographies, they share person-centred ambitions and common service challenges. DLS will work collaboratively with each ADP to determine where digital inclusion and digitally enabled services can make a practical difference.