Welcome to the Getting it Right for Everyone (GIRFE) learning site.
GIRFE is Scotland’s approach to designing and delivering public services that focus on people’s needs. It makes sure services work well for everyone who uses them.
This site is designed to support health and social care staff explore the GIRFE approach and consider how it can be embedded in practice.
What is GIRFE?
GIRFE intends to shape the design and delivery of health and social care services
GIRFE is about providing a more personalised way to access help and support when it is needed. GIRFE aims to place the person at the centre of all the decision making that affects them. This means a joined up, consistent approach regardless of the support needed at any stage of life.
There are 5 Principles that form the foundation of GIRFE. These are:
- I have the information I need to make decisions about my life, in a way that works for me, and I am supported to understand what options are available to me, and trusted to know what is right for me
- the people who support me take the time to listen and understand me as a person and we consider my whole life when making decisions about my life
- I know that I can be clear about what matters to me, and I trust that my choices will be respected and understood by the people who support me
- if I need to access services or support, I am treated with kindness, dignity and respect at all times.
- the people I am involved with work together with me and each other to share information, in a way that is accessible to me and develop a clear understanding of how to support my wellbeing
Within these principles, ‘I’ or ‘me’ can be substituted to include the addition of ‘my guardian’ or ‘my power of attorney’ where relevant.
You can explore these at our GIRFE Principles page.
GIRFE was developed to improve how health and social care support is delivered. People reported their frustrations of:
- having to tell their story multiple times
- information that is too complex
- multiple appointments with different people
The approach was co-designed with service users and professionals from nine health and social care areas. It focuses on the individual, ensuring all professionals involved in their care work together to create a package of support that meets all of their life needs.
The GIRFE approach:
- makes it easier for people to get the help they need
- puts the person at the centre of decision making
- ensures everyone works together to provide consistent support, no matter what kind of help is needed at different times in a person's life
The GIRFE Team Around the Person
To help develop and embed a GIRFE approach, The Team Around the Person Toolkit was co-designed.
You can learn more about the toolkit and how it can be implemented by visiting:
Further Reading
You can access the full Team Around the Person Toolkit which includes example templates and case studies at:
You can also find more information on the toolkit at the Scottish Government pages.