PERHAPS it is only fitting that Jan Baird has settled in the Highlands.
Though Ayrshire-born and bred, she had an early introduction to Highland culture and one that was to have an impact on her current career.
"I used to be a Gaelic singer," she revealed, though she acknowledged that Largs was not a place you would imagine a Gaelic choir was needed.
She also sang with Scotland’s oldest Gaelic choir, the Glasgow Gaelic Musical Association.
"I loved my time in the choir," she said.
"Even the short time I was in the Glasgow choir was great because they opened it up to male singers for the first time and that added a new dimension."
Though Jan never learnt Gaelic, instead picking up the words phonetically, it did help stimulate her wider interest in communication and language.
"I wanted to do something in a caring profession and speech therapy ticked all the boxes," she explained.
Jan first moved into the Highlands in 1981 when she and husband Ian moved to Speyside.
After taking time off to look after their two children, she returned to work as a speech and language therapist in 1989 and eventually progressed to managing the service.
This began a career that included running a local healthcare co-operative and more recently becoming community care director for NHS Highland, a role that includes care of the elderly, children’s services and learning disability services among her responsibilities.
Jan has been asked a number of times why she left a front-line role as therapist to take up a management position.
"Being a speech and language therapist is a wonderful career," she said.
"There’s a different challenge every day and you get to see the difference you make to children and adults and to their families. But I wanted to make a difference to a wider group of people and I wanted to be able to support a wider range of staff to help them to make that difference. Sometimes we put in place, through no fault of anyone, systems that hold people back."
Jan’s current role is about changing those systems.
Instead of working exclusively for NHS Highland she now also counts Highland Council as her employer in her role as transitions director. Her task is to oversee the integration of health, education and social care services, with a special emphasis on improving the care received by children and the elderly.
NHS Highland will become responsible for adult care services and the council for children’s services — ending the crossover which now occurs between the organisations and, hopwefully, reducing bureaucracy and duplication.
Last December, the board of NHS Highland and Highland councillors agreed to begin integrating services.
After the implementation plan is completed in April and its findings put in place, the two organisations hope Highlanders will experience a faster access to services and more streamlined working practices, with improved communications between staff and service users.
As well as reducing duplication the hope is the changes will also prevent adults and children "falling between two stools" with questions over whether responsibility lies with the council or the health service.
Already working with both the NHS and the council’s social work department in her community care role, Jan was an obvious choice for secondment to the post of transitions director, a job that will keep her occupied into the summer of 2012.
"I’m working for two masters, but two masters I have worked for over a long time. This is about moving us to a more integrated approach. We believe it’s the right journey and that it will make a difference," she stated.
Though the changes will bring savings, Jan says the changes are not primarily driven by financial considerations.
"With older service users, adults have told us they want to stay in their own homes and communities as long as possible and the services we deliver at the moment don’t meet that demand," Jan said.
At the other end of the age range, the aim is to get involved with children as early as possible to prevent more serious health or social problems later in life.
In either case, families can find it confusing and frustrating dealing with two organisations. The planned changes will simplify matters. The improved system should remove barriers which might, for example, result in people having a longer hospital stay because no arrangements are in place to care for them when they return home.
"We are listening to what people have said," Jan said.
"This is not happening at this scale anywhere else in Scotland and we are really excited about what we are doing here. We do already deliver a high quality service, but that can always be improved. We want to develop new services that will help keep people in their homes."
The proposed changes have been generally welcomed by staff within the two organisations, although Theresa Fyffe, director of the Royal College of Nursing in Scotland, has expressed concern about the speed of the process, warning it could be damaging for both patients and staff.
"It’s been a great project to be involved in so far," Jan said.
"I’ve been really encouraged by the enthusiasm shown by all staff from the chief executive level down. They really do see the benefits of this. And there’s no territorialism because the joint working has already been there for a number of years."
As well as working within the public sector, Jan has also had an important role with Highland Hospice, and after serving on the board was invited to take on the role of chairman in late 2006.
"I’ve been on the board for seven years and was chairman for three, up to 2010," she said.
"My director’s role and then role as chairman also gave me a wider insight into the voluntary sector and palliative care in the Highlands. Working in the voluntary sector and with a board of volunteers who have given up their own time to support an organisation like the Highland Hospice was very rewarding for me. I was also involved in the hospice long service awards and I couldn’t praise people enough for what they do."
Though her job is aimed at bringing together the two main public sector organisations, Jan is also mindful of building bridges with voluntary and independent sector organisations such as the Hospice.
"We all need to work together if we are going to support people in their own homes," she added.
"The health service five year plan is not just about the public sector. We all need to look after our health and we all need to work together. It’s fantastic that we are all living longer, but we want to have a longer quality of life too."
As well as an aging population, health and social work services have an additional challenge in the vast area they must cover.
"The geography is something we have to work around," Jan acknowledged.
"The remoteness of the Highlands is quite unique in UK. Meeting that challenge requires innovation. It can’t be a one size fits all solution. Very often communities themselves know what will work and it’s very important to have them involved in the planning stages."
Despite her background in the Gaelic choir, these days Jan only sings in the bath, so when she wants an escape from the pressures of a job which carries implications for all Highland residents, rather than music she takes refuge in her garden.
"My garden is my passion," she said.
"We’ve lived in Croy now for nine or 10 years, but the difference in climate from Speyside is quite dramatic. You enjoy a longer growing season than you do in the Spey valley. Another side of me comes out in the garden."
