Joined-up services: integration

A hearing test in Peterborough

• Increase image
• View all images

One goal of the Darzi review of NHS services was building effective relationships between councils and primary care trusts.

Peterborough City Council and the local primary care trust (PCT) believe their joint directors and merged budgets have improved local services.

"The driver for joint working, which started in 2004-05, was a belief that integration of services must be better for local people," says Denise Radley, the joint director of adult social services and performance for the council and PCT.

It took some time to put integrated teams into place, says Ms Radley. They are now established, but supporting them is an ongoing process. "You have to carry on supporting it with learning and development; you cannot just do it and leave people."

There is also a joint director of public health, and combined working takes place in areas like community safety and children's services.

Integration of services has been supported by shared management arrangements. The two joint directors sit on both organisations' management teams, and the cabinet member for adult social care and health sits on the PCT board. Both organisations contribute to Your Peterborough, a council magazine that keeps the public informed about local services.
 
Ms Radley identifies three ways in which joint working has benefited local people. First, pooling budgets offers greater flexibility. As a result, there is more intermediate care — pre or post-hospital admission — than in many areas, which means fewer delays in discharging people from hospital.

It also has allowed more creativity in the way services are provided. For example, Peterborough provides extra help for people with dementia living in sheltered accommodation who need intermediate care.

Lastly, joint working has allowed better targeting of health promotion activities and more 'joined up' services.

Ms Radley concludes: "Integration has given us a lot of opportunities — it would be a lot harder to achieve things otherwise."

Find out more

Peterborough City Council
Denise Radley, joint director of adult social services and performance.
Tel: 01733 758 444 or email: denise.radley@peterborough.gov.uk

See also within Best Practice

Dealing with Differences

Capitalising on Reorganisation

Merging Structures