Health and Social Care Policy and the Interprofessional ... - CAIPE

dependent on the relationship between three key players. These are the
Board Chair, the Board Chief Executive and the lead clinician who is Chair of
the Professional Executive Committee (PEC). Described as ‘Leadership by
Triumvirate’, the three are expected ‘to pool their talents… working together to
meet the common goals, and separately, to make their unique contribution’.
In ‘Shifting the Balance of Power within the NHS’, (DH 2001e) the shared
goals of the three members of the triumvirate are described as: ‘to improve
the health of the local community; to secure the provision of a full range of
services; and to integrate health and social care’.
In the autumn of 2006 the number of PCTs in England will be reduced from
302 to 152 ‘as part of the Government’s drive to create a patient-led NHS’.
(see details on DH Primary Care Trusts website)
The impact of this reorganisation and reconfiguration on the workforce is
already evident. Interagency, interprofessional co-located teams who have
been using Common Assessment Frameworks, implementing joint protocols
and standards, and providing data that proves the effectiveness of their
collaboration in terms of better patient outcomes, are now being disbanded
and relocated or made redundant!
Care Trusts
The government announced in the 'NHS Plan' (DH, 2000a: 70) that Care
Trusts were to be developed 'to bring health and social services into one
organisation'. Described as ‘important vehicles for modernising both social
and health care which will enable staff to shape a new organisation around
patient and user needs’ (DH 2001e: 39), Care Trusts were introduced
in 2002 to 'enable the commissioning and provision of services to be as
integrated as possible… [and] build on existing joint working' (DH, 2003a: 4)
It was acknowledged that although some Care Trusts may focus, initially, on
services for older people or those with mental health problems, there are no
limitations on the client groups it could serve (DH, 2003a)
Care Trusts are the next step in evolution from the PCTs with an even closer
integration between the health and social care services. Working across the
organisational boundaries by adopting a single strategic approach and
working together from a shared location is offering a golden opportunity for
integrated care pathways and joint assessment frameworks.
For further information see Care Trusts on the DH website
Recent initiatives
One of the most recent initiatives includes the publication of ‘Standards for
Better Health’ (DH, 2005c). The Health and Social Care (Community Health
and Standards) Act (2003) Section 46 sets out the legislative basis for the
Healthcare Standards and the requirements expected of all healthcare
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