Put people first

摘要

In approaching the topic of collaboration and integration, I find myself in an interesting position. I spent much of the first 21 years of my career working in the NHS as a nurse and then as a senior manager. More recently, I worked in various integrated roles and most recently, as a director of adult social services (DASS) in Somerset and now Oxfordshire. My roaming roles have given me a clear understanding of the unique differences that define the NHS and local government, our respective strengths and, what we each do best and what we do better together. Given my current role, as a DASS and as the vice president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) I have a practical interest in the role of local authorities in system working and in the perennial debates about collaboration, integration and organisational forms, so I want to share a number of personal observations.