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Partnership across NHS Scotland

What does partnership look like in practice? We believe that it describes a way of working: it is a means to an end, not the end itself.

In its simplest terms, a partnership culture is one where staff, managers and staff representatives work in an open, honest and mutually trusting way. This means that staff will, at the earliest possible stages, be involved in decisions that affect them or the services they provide. In short, partnership working brings real, tangible benefits for staff. This, in turn, improves the quality of patient care, as staff “at the sharp end” have the opportunity to directly influence what services are provided to patients, and how they are provided.

Partnership values

In NHSScotland, our framework for helping organisations to work in this way is set out in MEL(1999)59. This gives details about the values which underpin partnership working, and the structures which need to be in place to allow this level of staff involvement.

In NHSScotland, the partnership values that we aim to promote are:

mutual trust, honesty and respect;

openness and transparency in communications;

recognising and valuing the contribution of all partners;

access and sharing of information;

consensus, collaboration and inclusion as the "best way";

maximising employment security;

full commitment to the framework and good employment practice;

the right of stakeholders to be involved, informed and consulted;

The partnership model set out in the MEL is as follows: