MSP sees the crucial role of rehabilitation at Ayrshire health service

MSP for South Scotland, Carol Mochan, has today seen the life changing benefits of rehabilitation while visiting a health service in her constituency region. The Healthy and Active Rehabilitation Programme (HARP) in NHS Ayrshire and Arran supports people in the area who are affected by more than one long-term condition.

Established in 2015, HARP assists people with a cardiac, stroke, pulmonary or diabetic medical history to self-manage their health through increased physical activity and exercise. The programme provides health benefits physically, mentally and socially while assisting in maintaining or improving health and independence.

HARP is a multi-agency health and social care team, collaborating to produce a generic approach to rehabilitation spanning all three Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership areas. HARP is designed as a flexible four-tiered model with a focus on person-centred support, this needs-led approach really sees results, giving people back a quality of life.

Jane Holt, Physiotherapy team lead at the HARP service, said, "We work with blurred boundaries across our professions, while also appreciating our unique specialisms as allied health professionals and nurses. We also have an amazing group of volunteers who have lived experience of long-term conditions, and great relationships with other parts of the NHS."

People can access support from a variety of health professionals, including physiotherapists and nurses. Working together with the patient, these professionals assess what will best meet an individual's needs. They design home exercise programmes, to offering outdoor check ins and delivering rehabilitation classes. A lot of this support happens in places close to people's homes.

Jane added: "It has been a pleasure to welcome Carol Mochan and highlight the skilled group of professionals who work within the HARP service. Our aim is always to help support people manage their conditions to the best of their abilities."

Carol Mochan MSP (South Scotland) said about her visit, "It was a pleasure to see first-hand the vital work of HARP today, they truly are providing a unique service across our region."

"This kind of setting in which the individual needs of patients can be met and treatment tailored to their own specific conditions is ideal for the kind of problems I see on a daily basis when out and about in my region. Most importantly people are allowed to stay independent and continue to live in a way that maintains their quality of life."

"We need a much greater emphasis on multi-disciplinary approaches across the NHS and the staff and volunteers of HARP are leading the way. I look forward to working with them closely in the future."

Kenryck Lloyd-Jones, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy public affairs and policy manager for Scotland, added, "We are grateful to Carol Mochan for the genuine interest she has taken in recognising the value of allied health professions and the crucial role of multidisciplinary rehabilitation services. Alongside a coalition of professional bodies and the third sector, the CSP is campaigning for a 'right to rehab' in Scotland. We are calling on investment in community rehabilitation to improve services and ensure that good rehabilitation is available to everyone across Scotland. We want to see the necessary investment in the AHP workforce and leadership, and adequate rehabilitation space where it is needed, to realise the Scottish government's own ambitions. Multi-disciplinary services that are integrated in community settings are the key to addressing so many of the challenges faced in health and social care."