7. What works in partnership working 7. What works in partnership working? Integrating health and social care

Current issues in partnership working One issue with partnership working in relation to older people is that many practitioners / agencies say that they are not responsible for a person, and that they are the responsibility of another organisation. This means that practitioners are focusing on which agency an older person belong in, rather than providing them with individualised care suited to their needs. Healthcare professionals assume that people can be separated in those who are ‘sick’ and people who are ‘frail’ and ‘disabled’. This means that practitioners try to categorise people and that they cannot fall in both categories. Needs aren't being met through increasing delays, arisen from partnership working. Tight budget makes it difficult for practitioners to work together effectively because of the little resources that are available.

Suggested approaches Aligning work cultures of front-line staff. This allows practitioners to explore their different value bases, cultures and professional contribution. This supports older people as it would support anti-discriminatory practice, enhancing inclusivity. Enabling personal budget-holders to join up services from the ground-up. This will help the availability of funding for vital resources. Using a ground-up approach means that the care is targeted to the service users requiring care, rather than the government trying to dictate how budgets should be managed. Being clear about outcomes, so that integration is only ever a means to an end. By identifying the aspects that works it can allow more flexible approaches to how services can organise what they can do to meet local needs.