– The purpose of this paper is to describe the approach adopted to building relationships between health and social care in Birmingham.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the approach adopted to building relationships between health and social care in Birmingham.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a practical case study, reflecting on personal experience of being directly involved in the situations and discussions described. It supplements a 2012 paper (Lotinga and Glasby, 2012) on the creation of Birmingham’s Health and Well-being Board.
Findings
Local history and context is crucial in shaping the nature of local joint working initiatives – understanding where local services have come from and why they have made the choices they have is a crucial pre-requisite for understanding current and future opportunities.
Research limitations/implications
This paper aims to place joint working between general practice and social work in a broader organisational, financial and policy setting – and placing local developments in this wider context is crucial for understanding barriers and opportunities locally.
Originality/value
In the absence of a detailed evidence base, front-line practice is often far ahead of the current research evidence. This means that local case studies like this are crucial in terms of sharing learning with other areas of the country, with policy makers and with researchers. While many case studies of joint working are small in nature, Birmingham is the largest local authority in Europe – so this paper also contributes learning based on trying to develop joint working in very large, complex authorities.
Details
Keywords
Against the backdrop of the significant changes taking place in health and social care, a key relationship is likely to be between social care and general practice. This paper…
Abstract
Purpose
Against the backdrop of the significant changes taking place in health and social care, a key relationship is likely to be between social care and general practice. This paper aims to focus on these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reports the outcomes of a series of workshops held with lead GPs, councillors, managers and service users in Birmingham to explore current and future joint working.
Findings
The paper identifies a series of key issues for future policy and practice.
Research limitations/implications
This is an under‐researched area – so the knowledge of what works is likely to be heavily dependent on practical experience and lessons learned.
Practical implications
While current policy changes are unsettling, they also offer opportunities for new conversations with new players.
Originality/value
In the absence of detailed research evidence, the paper provides a practical example of the conversations taking place at local level in response to current policy changes.
Details
Keywords
Staffordshire's Welfare to Work Joint Investment Plan is an inter‐agency approach to improving job opportunities for disabled people and carers, emphasising the need for their…
Abstract
Staffordshire's Welfare to Work Joint Investment Plan is an inter‐agency approach to improving job opportunities for disabled people and carers, emphasising the need for their participation in this process. A partnership with Staffordshire University has enabled disabled people to acquire research skills and survey the views of other disabled people on barriers to employment and strategies to overcome them. The article shares this innovative approach to participation and welfare to work.