[4] The three HSCPs in East, North and South Ayrshire were the first to become fully functioning under the new legislation, with their Integration Joint Boards legally constituted on 2 April 2015.
[5] When Scottish Government's plans to implement legislation for integrated HSCPs were publicised in 2012, it was reported that each HSCP would be able to improve elderly care by cutting delayed discharges, reducing unplanned admissions to hospital and increasing the number of older people who are cared for in their own home.
[8] Audit Scotland published a report in November 2018 on progress to date which stated "There are examples of integrated health and social care services making a positive difference to people’s lives, but these tend to be local and small scale" and that "Integration Authorities, councils and NHS boards need to show a stronger commitment to collaborative working to achieve the real long term benefits of an integrated system.
"[9] In 2019 Scottish Government's Ministerial Strategic Group for Health and Community Care published a progress review on how implementation was going.
[10] The latter accepted the recommendations in the Audit Scotland report of the previous year, and put forward 25 proposals of its own, each with an implementation period of less than 12 months, reflecting the members' "shared commitment to making integration work".