“It gave me a whole different outlook on life.”
That is one of the voices featured in South Lanarkshire Integration Joint Board’s Annual Performance Report for 2025/26, which brings together accounts of lived experience and performance evidence from across local health and social care services.
Through a series of short films, people describe what care and support has meant in their own lives – from early support for families and quicker access to tests, to remaining independent at home, finding connection through recovery and rebuilding confidence following crisis.
The five accounts reflect South Lanarkshire’s priorities of Nurture, Access, Flow, Protect and Recover, showing the people behind services and the difference support can make.
Councillor Margaret Walker, Chair of South Lanarkshire Integration Joint Board, said: “This report illustrates the progress that our dedicated teams, together with our local partners, have made over the course of another challenging year for our services and communities.
“It also helps people see where pressures remain alongside the financial and workforce realities facing health and social care services across Scotland. That context informs the decisions we make on behalf of local people and underlines the importance of focusing on the changes that matter most to them.”
The report highlights improvement in a number of indicators during 2025/26, while setting out areas of challenge. Delayed discharge remains a continuing local priority, with bed days lost to delayed discharge reduced by 10,841, a reduction of almost a quarter compared to the previous year. The report also confirms that the IJB again managed its budget to balance during the year.
Professor Soumen Sengupta, Chief Officer for Health and Social Care for South Lanarkshire, said: “Performance information is more meaningful when it is connected to people’s lives. Robust data can tell us what is changing – listening to lived experiences can better help us understand what that change means in practice.
“Thank you to everyone who has been willing to share their story, to our teams and partners for the work they do every day and to our communities for valuing and supporting the staff who work on their behalf.”
The full Annual Performance Report 2025/26 and accompanying films are available here.
