A "BOLD" strategic plan is set to put people at the heart of health and social care transformation across Clacks and Stirling over the next decade.

The Strategic Commissioning Plan has been approved for the Clackmannanshire and Stirling Health and Social Care Partnership, seeking to ensure people are supported to live in their own homes and lead independent lives in their communities.

Prevention, early intervention and harm reduction; independent living through choice and control; achieving care closer to home and more are key themes in the plan to 2033.

It also places an emphasis on supporting people and empowering communities while reducing loneliness and isolation.

Annemargaret Black, chief officer of the partnership, said: “This bold plan puts the people who use and deliver our services at the heart of transforming the area’s health and social care in the coming years.

“It has been developed following extensive engagement across Clackmannanshire and Stirling over the last 12 months involving the general public, service users, unpaid carers as well as a wide range of partners and stakeholders.

"These conversations identified the key priorities for people living and working across the area to provide a new direction for health and social care in Clackmannanshire and Stirling.

“It will be driven by the principles such as human rights, equalities, access to the natural environment and independent living, while working collaboratively within communities.

“This plan will empower the residents of Clackmannanshire and Stirling to shape their services with the aim of improving outcomes and ensuring people live full and positive lives within supportive communities.”

The plan was recently approved by the Clackmannanshire and Stirling Integration Joint Board.

On the theme of reducing loneliness and isolation, the plan outlined: “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.

“We will work with communities to support local communities to build connections.

“We will build preventions and early interventions around changing the narrative around loneliness and isolation and find new ways for people to ask for help without feeling embarrassed.”

The plan will continually be reviewed and will be influenced by challenges such as continued recovery from Covid-19, budget pressures and the cost of living crisis and predicted demographic changes with an ageing population.

The full plan is available from the Clackmannanshire and Stirling Health and Social Care Partnership website.