Falkirk Health and Social Care Partnership are developing a new Falkirk Carers Strategy. Your feedback will help shape the final strategy and how progress is measured over the coming years.
Please follow the link to share your views: Falkirk Carers Strategy | Participate+
The consultation will be open until Sunday 13 September.
NHS Forth Valley is developing a new Quality, Safety & Experience Plan to support the delivery of their 10-year Population Health and Care Strategy. This Plan will set out how they will continue to improve the quality, safety and experience of everyone who uses NHS Forth Valley’s services.
We will welcome Jennifer Brisbane, Knowledge Facilitator and Lucy Atalla, Quality Improvement Advisor from NHS Forth Valley, who are seeking your help to shape this new plan. This consultation session will provide an opportunity to discuss the emerging priorities for the Plan, share your experiences and perspectives, and help shape the actions they take to improve quality, safety and experience across NHS Forth Valley. They would like to hear what is working well, where improvements are needed, and what matters most to you. Your feedback will help ensure the final Plan reflects local needs and priorities and is informed by the people who use, deliver and support their services.
There will also be further opportunities to contribute throughout the development process to ensure local feedback is reflected in the final plan.
Details:
For unpaid carers in the Falkirk district, who are registered with the Carers Centre
Monday 7 September 2026
From 10 am to 12 noon
In person at the Falkirk and Clackmannanshire Carers Centre or via Zoom
We are pleased to welcome Kara Connor, Primary Care Mental Health Team Leader at Falkirk Community Hospital, who is keen to hear your views and experiences of local mental health services. Kara will also provide information about the support available through the Primary Care Mental Health Team and explain how people can access these services.
Details:
For unpaid carers in the Falkirk district, who are registered with the Carers Centre Thursday 20 August 2026 From 1.30 pm to 3.30 pm In person at the Falkirk and Clackmannanshire Carers Centre or via Zoom
We will welcome Gordon MacKenzie, Localities Service Lead for Falkirk’s Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP), who let us know more about changes and updates that are being made regarding the upcoming respite review.
Please register by 1 pm on Tuesday 11 August; however, if you require a translator, please let us know at least 2 weeks in advance.
Thursday 13 August 2026 From 1 pm to 3 pm In person only at the Falkirk and Clackmannanshire Carers Centre or via Zoom
The Government has launched a new consultation on employment rights for unpaid carers. This is a significant opportunity to influence future support for the millions of unpaid carers who are juggling paid employment with their caring responsibilities.
Carers UK has long called for stronger rights for working carers, and this consultation provides a crucial chance to make the case for change. Importantly, this includes the introduction of a new statutory right to paid Carer’s Leave amongst others.
Through the consultation, the Government is keen to hear from both individuals and employers. Personal experiences can make a real difference in helping policymakers understand the challenges of trying to balance paid work and care.
The consultation closes on Tuesday 1 September 2026. You can find out more about the consultation here, including other ways to submit your response (email or post).
If you have any questions about the consultation, please do not hesitate to contact policy@carersuk.org.
Complete the consultation here.
We will welcome Colin Scott, Community Response Co-ordinator from Hourglass, a charity dedicated to preventing harm, abuse and exploitation of older people across the UK. With more than 25 years’ experience and expertise, Hourglass’ mission is to listen, advise and support vulnerable older people and all those affected throughout the UK.
In Scotland, Hourglass also campaign for policy and legislative change to improve protections for older people, working with the Scottish Government and other partners to promote safer ageing and reduce abuse, neglect and financial exploitation.
Colin will talk about the services and supports they provide to protect older people. Every Falkirk unpaid carer is welcome to attend. Regardless of your age or caring role, your insights, experiences, and views can help create a richer and more meaningful discussion for everyone.
Please register by 1 pm on Tuesday 4 August; however, if you require a translator, please let us know at least 2 weeks in advance.
Thursday 6 August 2026 From 10 am to 12 noon In person only at the Falkirk and Clackmannanshire Carers Centre or via Zoom
If you care for someone affected by alcohol and/or drug use, this research may be of interest to you. April Shaw and Greig Inglis, lecturers from the University of the West of Scotland (UWS), will be joining us to present their initial findings from the research titled ‘Behind the Scenes: Understanding the role of unpaid carers looking after people affected by alcohol and other drug use.’
They will be seeking your insights on whether the presented findings accurately reflect people’s experiences and whether there’s anything missing from this research.
More information about the research:
Carers Trust, Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs (SFAD), and the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) have carried out interviews with people who provide unpaid care to someone affected by alcohol and/or drug use. The primary aims of this work are to:
1. Understand the lived experiences of carers who care for a person with substance use problems in Scotland.
2. Inform the development of supports and interventions as well as local and national policy and practice.
The recommendations are aimed at local and national policy makers and organisations involved in developing and delivering services to carers (paid/unpaid) and/or to people affected by drug/alcohol use.
The work is funded by Oxfam and UWS. Notes will be taken during the discussion, but no personal information will be recorded. If you would like more information, contact april.shaw@uws.ac.uk or greig.inglis@uws.ac.uk.
Please register by 1 pm on Tuesday 28 July; however, if you require a translator, please let us know at least 2 weeks in advance.
Friday 31 July 2026 From 10 am to 12 noon In person only at the Falkirk and Clackmannanshire Carers Centre
Yvonne Cairns, NHS Forth Valley Dementia and Delirium Lead, and Emma Douglas, leader of the Community Mental Health Team for Older Adult Services, will be joining us again and are continuing to gather your views and experiences related to dementia services and support. The specific topic for this session will be confirmed later. During the session, Yvonne will also talk about how carers’ views and feedback shared in the last few sessions have shaped improvements in the accident and emergency department.
Please register by 1 pm on Tuesday 21 July; however, if you require a translator, please let us know at least 2 weeks in advance.
Thursday 23 July 2026 From 10 am to 12 noon In person at the Falkirk and Clackmannanshire Carers Centre or on Zoom
Karen Goudie, Executive Nurse Director, and Ross McGuffie, Chief Executive of NHS Forth Valley, are looking to hear your views and experiences of the accident and emergency department, admissions to hospital, and the hospital discharge process.
Karen Goudie and Ross McGuffie held a consultation with carers in March. The minutes of this previous meeting can be found here.
Please register by 1 pm on Tuesday 16 June; however, if you require a translator, please let us know at least 2 weeks in advance.
Thursday 16 June 2026 From 10 am to 12 noon In person at the Falkirk and Clackmannanshire Carers Centre or on Zoom
A massive thank you to all Carer Representatives who have completed the Carer Representative Training and sit on various Falkirk Health and Social Care Partnership (FHSCP) groups or are involved with alternative Carer Representation roles! Their time and commitment to helping others are highly appreciated!
The Carer Representatives regularly engage with carers via carer groups and local forums to gather views and information to understand issues affecting carers. This ensures their input reflects carers’ views, not only personal experience.
When participating in meetings, Carer Representatives contribute to discussions and provide advice and scrutiny from a Carer’s perspective. Where possible, they may add relevant items to meeting agendas and are prepared to raise relevant points and ask questions. If you’d like to share your experiences, please contact Sharlene, who will ensure the relevant Carer Representative shares your views on your behalf.
We’re pleased to share a major milestone: lived-experience representatives will finally have an equal voice by having full voting rights from 1 September 2026 on the IJB Boards, which means IJB Carer Representative, Sharon Mwale, and the Depute, Amanda Winters, will have voting rights, as well.
Carer Representatives Mandy Winters and John Giovanacci were invited to the closed session of the NHS annual review, where they raised carers’ experiences of hospital discharge and spoke about the need for suitable supports for dementia care due to an aging population, with dementia figures set to rise. As a result of the meeting, we held a consultation in the Centre with NHS Chief Executive Ross McGuffie and Karen Goudie, Executive Nurse Director. Notes from the meeting can be found here.
Dana has been meeting regularly with Jennifer Faichney, Policy and Research Officer, from the Falkirk Health and Social Care Partnership (FHSCP) during the development of the new Carer Strategy. Meetings will continue as the strategy is still being developed. We hope to bring you specific updates soon.
As a result of John regularly attending the Dementia Strategy Group, we have regular consultations, held in the Centre, with Yvonne Cairns (Dementia and Delirium Lead NHS Forth Valley) and Emma Douglas (Community Mental Health Team Lead for Older Adults NHS Forth Valley). These sessions are an opportunity for carers to learn new information and share their experiences of NHS services relating to dementia. You can find out more about the sessions by emailing Sharlene Ramage, Carer Participation Development Worker – sharleneramage@centralcarers.co.uk. Minutes of previous meetings can be found on our Publications page, under Falkirk Consultations: https://centralcarers.org/information/publications/