R6 Response Accepted AI-assessed

Service change continuity plans

Recommendation

Scottish Government should ensure that where major changes in patient services are planned there should be clear and effective plans in place for continuity of safe patient care.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
According to the Scottish Government's response (2015-06-18), it committed to ensuring clear plans for continuity of safe patient care during major service changes. According to the Scottish Government (2016), the National Clinical Strategy for Scotland (2016) and subsequent workforce planning frameworks address service change management. According to the available evidence, no further specific enforcement mechanisms or recent updates on these plans have been identified since 2016.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 19 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.gov.scot, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
Jurisdiction
Scotland
Response
Accepted
Accepted Scottish Government
18 Jun 2015

Section 2.1 of the Scottish Government's response details the intention to develop a longer-term plan for health and social care, and the integration of health and social care services. This integration aims to improve care, create better outcomes, and ensure seamless, joined-up care by planning and delivering services around the 'whole person'. Flexibility is built in to ensure integration reflects local needs and priorities, with professionals and communities involved in planning and delivering services.

Read Full Response
Published Evidence

Published assessments of implementation progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Check the source type badge to see whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.

Reasonable Progress
18 Jun 2015
Scottish Government Other

Scottish Government response committed to ensuring clear plans for continuity of safe patient care during service changes. National Clinical Strategy for Scotland (2016) and subsequent workforce planning frameworks address service change management.

View detailed findings

Service change continuity is addressed through strategic planning frameworks but no specific enforcement mechanism was created.

Scottish Government Response to Vale of Leven Inq… View Source
Source
Report The Vale of Leven Hospital Inquiry Report 24 Nov 2014
Responsible Bodies
Scottish Government Primary
Recommendation age 11.3 yrs
Last formal update 3932 days ago