Commissioning: Integration - An elderly care lesson from Scotland.

How commissioners can learn from Scotland on innovative care for the elderly.

When I was in Glasgow earlier this year speaking at a British Geriatrics Society (Scotland) symposium about community services for older people, two things struck me.

First, how refreshing it was to be at a conference where England's Health and Social Care Bill was barely mentioned, and second, the abundance of practical examples of healthcare integration from across Scotland.

One of the major criticisms of the Bill in its original incarnation was the emphasis on promoting competition between healthcare providers, which risked stifling efforts by clinicians in England to provide more seamless, integrated services for their patients. …