This section provides key policy documents, resources and materials which underpin the delivery of the Keep Well programme.
Policy drivers
Delivering for Health (2005) (external link) sets out a programme of action for NHS Scotland to implement the recommendations of the National Framework for Service Change. This policy lists a number of interventions focused specifically at tackling health inequalities. One of the major actions for primary care was the development of an Anticipatory Care Model targeting geographic communities of greatest need.
Better Health Better Care (2007) (external link). This Action Plan outlines the steps the Scottish Government will be taking to improve Scotland´s public health and tackle health inequalities. The central themes of the Action Plan are patient participation and improved healthcare access. It outlines anticipatory care programmes, for example Keep Well, as one of the key vehicles for reducing Scotland’s health inequalities.
Equally Well - Scotland´s framework on Health Inequalities (2008)(external link). This report from the Ministerial Task Force on Health Inequalities was launched in June 2008. The report brings Government Ministers and local government together, with the NHS, Third Sector and communities, to tackle some of Scotland´s health Inequalities.
Other policy documents
Additional key Keep Well documents
The national evaluation of the Rural Anticipatory Care Paramedic Programme (RACPP) aimed to test the delivery of Keep Well and Well North health checks by trained Scottish Ambulance Service paramedics. The programme was tested in NHS Orkney, NHS Highland and NHS Ayrshire and Arran. A learning note presenting key areas of learning is also available.
The development and initial validation of the Minnesota Edinburgh Complexity Assessment Method (MECAM) for use within the Keep Well health check – Equally Well recommended that the Keep Well health check include an assessment of anxiety and depression. In response the programme commissioned the universities of Edinburgh and Stirling to develop and test a practical tool (MECAM) for nurses conducting Keep Well health checks that would assess mental wellbeing and bio-psychosocial need.
The evaluation tests the application of MECAM in two Keep Well sites with results informing a revised design for application by those NHS Boards wishing to use it.
Two learning notes have been prepared with the aim of identifying key learning for potential future implementation:
Learning note 1 - The MECAM tool
Learning note 2 - Impacts at Patient and Practitioner Levels
Updated 28 July 2014