Getting it right for everyone (GIRFE)

Developing the GIRFE approach

GIRFE was built around what was working well in service delivery and on the lessons learned from the Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) approach.

It aimed to:

• build on existing good practice
• provide a national practice model for health and social care working
• provide a model to support the Community Health and Social Care Integrated Services Framework

• improve population health and wellbeing, reduce health inequalities and improve the sustainability of health and social care services.  Read more: Care and Wellbeing Portfolio Board 

Testing

Pathfinder and partner organisations created a series of story boards in January 2024 to visualise what care and support individuals may need at different points in their lives. This helped them explore concepts and ideas and identify gaps in provision. 

Pathfinders considered:

• how people first interact with service providers
• the agencies involved
• who would be involved in a support team to get the best results

The team around the person 

The storyboards led to the development of the team around the person approach.  Pathfinder teams and partners build prototypes by working with people with lived experience in their areas.  They tested the concepts:

• my team
• my coordinator
• peer support
• sharing information
• my plan
• positive first contact

Design

A Design School was created to bring pathfinders together and support them in preparing to co-design the process with people with lived experience, specialists in different areas of policy and problem solve. 

This work aligned with five areas:

• people in prisons
• people using alcohol and drug services  
• people registered at deep-end GP practices
• families with multiple and/or complex needs - and young people in transition from GIRFEC to GIRFE  
• older people and frailty  

Our six pathfinders, who worked on the project from 2022, were:

• East Ayrshire HSCP

• Aberdeenshire HSCP

• Aberdeen City HSCP

• North Lanarkshire HSCP

• Orkney HSCP

• Fife HSCP

Our three partners, who joined in 2024, were:

• South Ayrshire HSCP
• Moray HSCP
• Falkirk  HSCP

The development process

• Discovery – winter 2022 to summer 2023 - Pathfinders worked with people who have used services to map out their experiences
• Ideation – second half of 2023 – Used learning to solve some of the core problems people faced
• Prototyping – late 2023 – mid 2024 – Created initial versions of the process along with people with lived experience
• Testing – summer 2024 – autumn 2024 – Tested the team around the person tools, tweaked and finalised the approach