Search results for ‘Subject term:"integrated services"’ Sort:
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Time to be strong
- Author:
- JONES Ray
- Journal article citation:
- Care and Health Magazine, 22.02.05, 2005, pp.26-27.
- Publisher:
- Care and Health
The author, Wiltshire county council's director of adult and community services, explains how integrated services present a real challenge to social care and social work.
History and hindrance: the impact of change and churn on integrating health and social care
- Author:
- JONES Ray
- Journal article citation:
- Research Policy and Planning, 28(3), 2011, pp.199-206.
- Publisher:
- Social Services Research Group
Over the last 40 years progressive UK governments have sought to close the divide between health and social care services. This divide has existed since the 1940s when the welfare state was first being developed. Since the 1970s, various mechanisms have been introduced to get these services working better together. Since the late 1990s, there have been moves to integrate the services organisationally, but in 2010, this still remains a largely unachieved ambition for all political parties. This article suggests that existing government-demanded NHS and local government reorganisations have been major hurdles to this integration. They have disrupted local commitment to bring health and social care services together. The author concludes that centrally-imposed organisational change have undermined local health and social care integration, and this failing must be addressed.
The marketisation and privatisation of children’s social work and child protection: integration or fragmentation?
- Author:
- JONES Ray
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Integrated Care, 23(6), 2015, pp.364 -375.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: Whilst the government makes progress on opening up children’s social work, including child protection, to the market place and to private and commercial businesses, there has been little comment on the strengths and weaknesses, and the opportunities and threats, of the political policy direction being pursued. In particular, what are the implications for the integration and consolidation of services, which had been the “joined-up” services policy ambition of previous governments and, for health and social care services, remain the declared ambition of the current government? The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach: This paper considers the potential impact on children’s social work services and child protection from the government’s policy and regulatory changes which open up all children’s social work to the market place. Findings: Particular concerns are noted that the changes now being allowed and promoted will lead to greater fragmentation rather than integration. Originality/value: This is the first paper to reflect on the government’s push and preference for the unregulated market place it created in 2014 for children’s social work, including child protection. (Publisher abstract)
A ‘liberated’ NHS: intentions, impact and implications for local government
- Author:
- JONES Ray
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Integrated Care, 18(6), December 2010, pp.35-40.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
This article follows up an earlier prospective article on health and social care partnerships published by the same author in the Journal of Integrated Care just before the Election. The article provides a review of the Coalition's vision for health and social care, and what this will mean for local government. It considers the new structure of the NHS, with no strategic health authorities (SHAs) or primary care trusts (PCTs), and with their role in commissioning taken over by GP consortia. These new arrangements are likely to require more dispersed leadership across networks of GPs than the line management currently in place in SHAs and PCTs. This will require a new way of building partnerships, shared commitments and agendas, and representation on bodies. The article concludes that, despite risks of increased fragmentation, there are new opportunities for integration in both commissioning and provider functions. It argues that local authorities can seek to be a positive partner and should move quickly to influence and lead the new partnerships.
Anticipating and capitalising on change: the general election and health and social care partnerships
- Author:
- JONES Ray
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Integrated Care, 18(1), February 2010, pp.20-26.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
It is a longstanding commitment of government that health and social care services be brought together despite the separate legislative and organisational arrangements. However, frequent government-generated re-organisations have disrupted the building of shared health and social care agendas and services. With the General Election in 2010, and a new or revitalised government to be elected, more change is likely. This article discusses the consequences of anticipated post-election changes. It argues that the danger is that these changes may pull apart the local developments which have been achieved together by the NHS and local authorities, and may deter and make it more difficult to achieve future joining up of services. Post-election opportunities are also discussed. The article concludes that a focus on building integrated community health and social care provider services outside the NHS, and with local government to lead on public health agendas, may now be the way forward, alongside joint planning and commissioning based on shared geographical primary care trust and local authority building blocks.